MLP: The Pinkamena Saga
by The Nickname
Summary: In her lowest moment, Pinkie Pie reunites with Pinkamena, her second personality that now seeks revenge on Pinkie Pie's friends. I'm not an actual brony, so there may be inconsistencies from the show. - Rated Kplus for violence. - Reviews are welcome.
1. The Prank of the Century Part 1

**MLP: The Prank of the Century. Part 1**

April Fool's Day had come once again to the city of Ponyville, and the typically quiet streets were fraught with chaotic activities. Ponies, pegasi and unicorns alike were running rampant through the streets, stalking upon thatch rooftops and lurking behind street corners, each with the intent to victimize others and laugh at their misfortune.

All citizens within Ponyville were having the time of their lives enacting humiliating practical jokes on their rivals, only for the rivals to eventually exact their revenge. However, as malicious in nature as these jokes and pranks seemed, as well as the resulting misfortune, the heart of the holiday remained in its rightful place.

But of all the ponies that took pride in their devious deeds during this holiday, two had managed to indirectly create the April Fools annual competition. The first was Rainbow Dash, the competitive and athletic pegasus with her eye on competing against the greatest pranksters in Ponyville for the title.

Her greatest rival, Pinkie Pie, was a pony with an undying sense of joy, even in her lowest of moments. Her love of all things both comedic and peculiar has made her the bane of many pranksters who would challenge her. This pair had juggled the title for years, as both seems evenly matched.

This particular year, Rainbow Dash had gained the allegiance of the tomboy pony Applejack and the deliberate unicorn Twilight in her current feud against Pinkie Pie. The power-hungry pegasus was currently over-watching the streets from the air, while remaining unseen from sight of pedestrians.

Applejack was sneaking within alleyways with a similar intent, lurking in the shadows with an array of practical tools holstered in her possession. Twilight, for her part, had finally spotted Pinkie Pie, and the rest of the group joined her to oversee the situation. They watched from a rooftop as to remain unseen by their rival.

The excitable Pinkie Pie and the deliberate Fluttershy were walking together along the market streets, Pinkie Pie gazing constantly around for any prying eyes. She was aware of Rainbow Dash's alliance and had become even more cautious. Fluttershy on the other hand, had grown paranoid from the quiet atmosphere, expectant of a sudden ambush from the blue pegasus.

Pinkie jumped and hid behind a corner and Fluttershy quickly followed her, watching Pinkie Pie emerge from behind a lamppost. Fluttershy considered this anomaly Pinkie Pie had performed, thinking "I have to ask her how she does that later".

Suddenly, before the duo could react, the trio of spies had already sprung their ambush. Rainbow Dash soared down from the air and prepared to dump a bucket of ice water upon Pinkie Pie. The pink party-animal turned to her and shouted "I _knew_ it! I knew we were being followed!" before retrieving a pie and tossing at the pegasus with great accuracy.

Rainbow was hit square in the face with the pastry, before she immediately removed it and yelled "Ugh! What the heck was in that?! It tastes like dirt". Pinkie Pie yelled "There's a good reason for that, Dashie!" and Rainbow Dash's cheeks flushed red with frustration.

For the following ten minutes, a series of chaotic events occurred.

Rainbow dropped her bucket of ice water when she was hit by Pinkie Pie's mud pie, causing the bucket and its contents to accidentally fall and land on Applejack, who was paralyzed from the intense cold as a result. Rarity managed to find the fine and joined the fray, splashing a can of yellow paint on Rainbow Dash's entire body. In a panic, Twilight spotted Rainbow and doused her with a pair of powder bombs, mistaking her for Fluttershy in a fit of impulse.

Eventually, the dust settled and all six girls were completely exhausted from their skirmish, either laying in the streets or attempting to clean themselves off. Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack rested along the road catching their breath, or in Applejack's case, recuperating from the ice cold water under the sun's heat.

Rainbow Dash spent was cleaning the powder and paint off her body, using the water from a nearby tap to aid her. Pinkie Pie, during the madness, had attempted to grab Rainbow Dash's firecrackers, but the latter took what remained of her mud pie and threw it back, covering much of Pinkie Pie head and soaking into her hair.

Twilight, the first to recover from their encounter, approached the others and announced "Well, since the party seems to be over, you wanna go get something to eat?" After removing the last of the mud from her hair, Pinkie Pie smiled and replied "Oh, great! I'm starving!"

She then turned to Rainbow Dash with an expectant gaze, asking "What do you say, Dash? Truce?" The pegasus sighed indifferently and answered "Okay, we can have a truce. I think this was all a tie anyway" before the six of them made their way to the café.

As they walked, Rainbow Dash walked alongside Applejack and asked, "Do the others know about it yet?" Applejack shook her head, prompting Rainbow Dash to sigh and conclude "We'll tell them after Pinkie Pie has headed home".

* * *

After ten minutes of feasting in the café, the group left and prepared to part ways. "Seeya tomorrow night, girls!" Pinkie called to them as she took her leave, Rainbow dash turning to say, "Sure thing! I bet you more will vote for me as winner!" Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and retorted "Fat chance!" before she bounded her way around the street corner.

Once Pinkie Pie was out of their line of sight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash called Rarity and Fluttershy outside and Twilight informed the delinquent pair "We've thought about it, Rainbow. We'd love to help!" Rainbow clapped her hooves together and smiled mischievously, "Perfect. Everypony in Ponyville is willing to help. We can pull this off easily!"

"And best of all, she doesn't suspect as thing" Applejack added before each of them waved goodbye to eachother. Rainbow Dash remained outside the café, a smug grin stretching across her cheeks. "You may have high hopes now, Pinkie Pie. But come tomorrow…" she muttered to herself.

"You'll be the punchline to the Prank of the Century!"

* * *

The next day, Pinkie Pie felt unwilling to leave her bed, having been greatly fatigued from yesterday's events.

She thought to herself "It's not like I have anything to do today, anyway…" before furrowing her eyebrows and grimacing, "Wow. Listen to yourself, Pinkie. We can't just lounge around like this for a whole morning!"

From this encouragement, she dragged herself from her bed and fell to the floor with a ' _Thud!'_ , before she stumbled her way down her staircase. "I might just get something to eat at the café for this morning" she considered, "Maybe I can just be a little lazy for today".

By this time, she'd pushed her way through her front door and inhaled the surrounding air, instantly intoxicated by the aroma of sweets from her Pastry Shop on Sugarcube Corner. She thought of Mr. and Mrs. Cake, her employers and guardians, and how they had left Sugarcube Corner under her surveillance whilst they were on their business trip.

She could not remember how long they'd be gone or when they'd be returning, though she felt a sense of honor in maintaining their pastry shop on their lengthy behalf. With a smile, she bounded her way down the street and made her way for the café.

"I'll bet the others will be there too!" she thought to herself giddily as she bounded her way through the streets without a care, determined to enjoy her morning before it would inevitably pass. Finally, she had the café in her sights, her mouth practically watering with anticipation.

However, as she approached the main entrance, she was confused as to find the café completely vacant, despite the lack of a ' _Closed_ ' sign. She peered into the nearby window and was to confirm her suspicions, finding no customers or staff in sight. "Weird…" she muttered, "They're always open on weekends".

By this time, realization finally dawned on her.

She looked over the streets and through the windows of the nearby homes and buildings; try as she may, she couldn't find anypony where they would normally reside. All shops seemed devoid of workers or customers, all homes were emptied of their residences, and the streets had been cleared of pedestrians; this place had become nothing more than a ghost town.

Pinkie Pie, taken aback by the ominous qualities that Ponyville now possessed, wondered what this discovery could mean. "Did I miss a memo or something? Maybe their meeting at the Town Hall" she thought to herself.

After a short journey, she arrived at the Town Hall, already offset by the lack of guards at the main entrance. From outside, she could see no commotion, nor could she hear any emanating from within the Town Hall itself. Overwhelmed with curiosity, she peered through the main entrances glass window, and could see nothing but darkness.

Nopony. No staff, no form of security personnel; everypony appeared to have vanished into thin air, leaving no evidence or clue of their existence. Her ears lowered as she turned away to take her leave, her list of possible explanations for this anomaly slowly dwindling.

Entire hours passed by as Pinkie continued her search for sentient life within this ghost town, finally exhausting every possible location the citizens of Ponyville could reside. From this realization, Pinkie Pie had begun to develop a deep sense of loneliness from solitude, unable to fathom the reasoning behind their disappearance.

One by one, she visited each of her friends' houses in search for them, only to find each abode entirely vacant with no trace of inhabitance. Finding herself in the center of the market district once again, Pinkie Pie attempted to think of any plausible explanation for this phenomenon, only to be left clueless upon every attempt.

Within the early afternoon, she eventually ceased searching and simply wandered through the streets, feeling incredibly lonely and stranded, hoping to herself that somepony may happen to find her and explain this bizarre occurrence. "ARRGH! WHAT IS GOING ON?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, frustration and fear welling and clouding rational thought.

"IS ANYPONY OUT THERE!" she called out, her voice echoing thought the vacant and otherwise silent streets of the ghost town. She turned and stopped in the middle of the street, gasping and panting heavily for control of her senses. She swung her head in different directions and ran towards the first building she could see, flinging the door open and yelling "Hello?! Is anypony here!?"

As she should've expected, no form of response could be heard. Pinkie Pie was undoubtedly panicking by this point, trembling fearfully at the thought of solitude, even abandonment. She spun around and staggered through the exit before she halted in the center of the street, her panting only having grown heavier and more desperate as time passed. Finally, in a final fit of hysteria, she stared upwards to the sky and raised her arms dramatically.

"WHERE IS EVERYPONY!?"

Silence. Nothing but silence had answered.

All at once, Pinkie lost all hope and began to ponder the worst possibilities for this terrifying situation. Pinkie's arms dropped to her sides as her head lowered miserably, her mind reeling with questions. She closed her eyes as tears began welling from her morbid thoughts.

Why did everypony leave? Why was she the only pony here? Did they leave to go somewhere? Why wouldn't they tell her? Did they leave her by herself on purpose? Did she do something wrong? Was there something wrong with her?

"Is there something wrong… with me?" she whispered to herself.

Unbeknownst to her, two pairs of observing eyes viewed this degrading scene, each widened in awe of its unbelievable outcome. Upon a nearby rooftop, hidden within the thatch roof, where Applejack's sister Applebloom and her friend Scootaloo.

"Well… I wasn't expecting _that_ " Scootaloo whispered as she observed Pinkie Pie's weeping. "No kidding. I didn't think she'd take it so seriously" Applebloom replied, before considering her statement and asking "But then again, how else would _anypony_ have reacted to something like this?"

After lowering the lifted section of the roof, Applebloom grimaced "I don't think we thought this through enough".

* * *

By nightfall, Pinkie Pie slowly staggered her way through the streets towards the front door of her home. By this time, she had all but accepted her solitude and was prepared to spend the rest of her life alone. Despite this, she still remained baffled as to why this would happen to begin with, but believed that she would never uncover the reason.

Suddenly, as she approached her front door and twisted the doorknob, she heard a sound that was incredibly familiar to her, but was definitely the last sound she expected to hear. The very rhythm of it sent chills up and down Pinkie Pie's spine.

Laughter.

She flung the door open and raced upstairs to her bedroom, the sound of laughter growing ever louder all the while. She twisted the knob on her door and it slowly creaked open, and the sight she was met with was too much for her to comprehend.

All of her friends were giggling to themselves, before they all noticed her an all shouted "Surprise!" in unison. Pinkie Pie's heart skipped a beat from this revelation, "You… Where did you all go? Where did _everypony_ go?" she exclaimed. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and answered "We were hiding of course, silly! Everypony in Ponyville _was_!"

Pinkie Pie was left speechless, and all of her friends laughed at her expression. "I'm gonna have that prize for sure! This was the greatest prank of all time" Rainbow Dash smugly declared, "What did you think, Pinkie? Did we get you?"

The sight they witnessed instead grinded their party to a shocking halt.

Pinkie Pie sat on the floor, her eyes welling with tears as she stared at the ground, clearly in a state of shock. Her friends stared in surprise before Applejack approached her, asking "Hey Pinkie, ya feelin' alright?"

Pinkie's eyes suddenly shot open and her cheeks flushed red with rage.

"AM I ALRIGHT!?" she screamed as she leapt to her hooves, "YOU ALL ALMOST SCARED ME TO DEATH! WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ME!?"

Her friends stood dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events.

"THAT WAS HORRIBLE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HORRIBLE THAT WAS! I THOUGHT THAT EVERYPONY LEFT ME HERE ALONE!"

Pinkie's meltdown was soon replaced with sorrow, as her tears could be seen dripping from her cheeks. "You thought this would be _funny_ to me? There is _never_ anything funny about losing your friends!" she sniffed distraughtly, her eyes glistening with misery. Unable to bare this scene, Applejack suddenly intervened, "But ya didn't lose us, Pinkie! We're right here for ya!".

Pinkie Pie tilted her head up towards her friends with her eyes fixed upon them.

"Get out" she sneered, having sucked the party dry of its original intended joy by this point.

"Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash whispered under her breath.

"I said get out! Now!" she snarled, gritting her teeth tightly, "I've had enough of my 'friends' for _one_ day".

An ominous silence lingered within the bedroom. But, not wanting to upset her any further, her friends reluctantly obliged and left one by one, swiftly descending to the first floor and exiting through the front door. All the while, Pinkie Pie followed from behind for reassurance of their departure.

Rainbow Dash was the last to leave; but before doing so, she turned to Pinkie Pie and said "Hey… Pinkie Pie. Their having the final vote in the Town Hall… But you don't have to come if you don't want to".

With that, she lay an invitation letter on the floor, before stepping outside and shutting the door behind her.

Pinkie Pie stared at the letter before picking it up to examine it. It was addressed to her, and the envelope was a promising colour of pink. Her smile began to return for the first time today as she curiously pealed the seel open and pulled the note out to read it.

' _BOOM!'_

Confetti and powder immediately flew in random directions, covering both Pinkie Pie and the furniture around her. She stared down at the letter in utter disbelief; a simple text reading _'This message will self-destruct before you'll be able to read it!'_ and an expended wick could be seen.

Just another joke. Was this all just one big joke?

Her friends witnessed this from outside the window, before turning to stare angrily at Rainbow Dash. "What was _that_!?" Applejack questioned sternly. Rainbow Dash backed away sheepishly before answering "I… thought it would cheer her up". Applejack then lectured "It was bad enough with that prank of yars, but _that there_ was just mean".

The argument was suddenly interrupted by a piercing scream from within the house.

Suddenly, before they could react, something came flying through the air and crashed through the window, before landing a fair distance from the store.

"Should we go back inside ta-" Applejack began, before Twilight interrupted "No. If she was angry with us before, she'll _really_ not want to see us now" before turning to glare viciously at the blue pegasus, who squirmed nervously.

"I think we should go" Rarity offered before backing away from the store. A chilling atmosphere had enveloped the air around them as they regrettably followed Rarity's advice and quickly departed from the scene.

* * *

Meanwhile, from within the pastry shop, Pinkie Pie simply sat on the floor of her bedroom, unmoving as her eyes watered relentlessly. She was no longer simply crying and was openly sobbing, bawling over all the misfortune she had been exposed to. She could not fathom the reasons for such a cruel joke.

Why would her own fiends do something so mean to her? Is it really so funny to see her so miserable when bad things happened to her? Did they really think she was that useless?

This last thought was what started it, as it set off a chain reaction that altered Pinkie Pie's outlook on the world entirely.

Her hair fell over her shoulders, becoming lank.

 **To be continued…**


	2. The Prank of the Century Part 2

**MLP: The Prank of the Century Part 2**

Pinkie Pie sat silently on the floor of her living room, her head lowered sorrowfully. She sniffed distraughtly as tears fell from her eyes behind her lank hair. She felt completely betrayed, her good nature taken advantage of by her own friends; her best friends. They seem to have noted her needs for companionship and snatched it from her for their twisted amusement.

This was the first time she had ever felt truly angry with anypony, and possibly will be from now on. Just the mere thought of her friends left a horrendous pain in her chest, spawned from her overwhelming rage.

"Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie shut her eyes tightly and yelled "Go away! Leave me alone!" before she paused and open her eyes in realization, "…whoever you are".

Her rage was replaced with curiosity as her gaze shifted throughout the seemingly vacant room. "Who said that?" Pinkie Pie asked nervously, the feminine voice responding plainly "I did".

This voice could be heard, but didn't seem to come from anywhere in the room. ""Who's there?" Pinkie Pie asked again, her whisper echoing faintly within the household. "I'm not anywhere, Pinkie" the voice responded, Pinkie Pie finally realizing that she wasn't actually hearing this voice at all.

She stared upwards, asking "Are you… in my head?" into the cold night air.

"Wait a minute. Don't you… remember me?" the voice asked, a worried tone suddenly seeping into the voice's words. Pinkie Pie's suspicions were confirmed, this voice was indeed inside her own mind, though this new question left evermore confused.

Among the many questions to asked, Pinkie responded "Remember you? Do I even _know_ you?" The voice fell silent, before answering, "Pinkie Pie… I'm your friend. I was the first friend you ever had… ever since you lived on the rock farm".

Pinkie Pie thought back to her fillyhood on her family's farm, in an attempt to understand the voice's claim. What she immediately remembered was her woeful lifestyle, her boring family only helping to cement her feelings of loneliness. Because of this, there was only one pony that was always there to listen to her; herself.

Everything was coming together.

Pinkie Pie remembered how she created an imaginary friend in her own image that she would talk to. She would often roam away from the rock farm to somewhere secluded and spend entire conversations with this imaginary friend, and she would always listen. For the first time today, Pinkie's trademark smile had emerged. "Yes! That's right! I remember that!"

The voice sighed blissfully and stated "Whatever you feel or want to say, I'm here to talk to you. No matter what problems you run into, I'm always here to help you through them".

Such happy memories flooded Pinkie Pie's mind like a tidal wave, and filled her with a newfound happiness as she giddily hugged herself with joy. Through her joy, however, a thought crossed her mind, as she asked her reunited colleague "What happened to you?"

From this question, the mood turned somewhat sour.

The voice fell silent for a moment, before meekly answering "You forgot about me… for a long time". "Wait… I did?" Pinkie asked in surprise, the voice answering "You left me all by myself when you came to this place… and found some new friends".

Pinkie Pie was left speechless after hearing this, since she knew that she had always wanted friends as a filly. But according to this voice, when she finally had one, she abandoned her so she could make more friends.

Pinkie Pie felt a pain in her chest from this discovery, feeling guilty for her selfishness. The voice exclaimed distraughtly "I don't understand… I was there for you for so long, and you just forget about me? DID I REALLY MEAN SO LITTLE YO YOU?!" The voice grew louder and louder until Pinkie held her head in a panic.

"I'M SORRY! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for abandoning you like that! I…" she rambled hesitantly before she lost her breath. She considered herself a hypocrite, since she had just berated her friends for using her good nature for their selfish amusement, even though she herself was guilty of this atrocity.

She cringed as she muttered "Ugh… I feel like a monster" before tear began falling from her eyes once again. This atmosphere suddenly lifted as the voice told Pinkie Pie "It's alright, Pinkie Pie. We're together again now, and _that's_ what matters".

"After what I did to you, leaving you all alone… it doesn't bother you?" Pinkie Pie questioned as she wiped her tears away. The voice answered "I don't blame you at all, Pinkie Pie. I knew those _phonies_ were never really your friends after what they did to you".

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion from this peculiar change of topic, and she asked with a raised eyebrow "What do you mean?"

The voice sneered angrily "What kind of friends would do such awful things to somepony like you?! They never realized how horrible that was for you go through, and for all we know, they didn't care at all!"

Pinkie tried to find a rebuttal, but found herself agreeing with this voice, saying "It was horrible! They scared me so bad today!" Pinkie Pie paused as she shivered in the cold air, before she added "But… they weren't _trying_ to be mean to me. They wouldn't… would they?"

"After all of that?!" the voice howled, "Pinkie Pie, they never knew when to stop entertaining themselves off of your misery, or at least even made you feel better from it all".

Pinkie Pie slammed both her front hooves on the carpet floor in a fit of rage, shouting "You're absolutely right! What kind of friends are _they_?! I can't believe they would do that to me!" before tensing in frustration.

"But _I_ can!" the voice answered in disagreement, "But don't worry, Pinkie Pie. I'm gonna help you get back at them!"

Pinkie Pie waited for the voice to finish; "We've just gotta find them first".

* * *

Pinkie felt herself stand up from the carpet floor, even though she never meant to do so, and staggered her way to the front door. "Hey! Are you… controlling my body?" Pinkie Pie asked, though the voice never answered her question. Pinkie opened it and was met with the intense cold, but she persisted in wandering her wat onto the streets of Sugarcube Corner.

She gazed up and down the thankfully vacant streets, before staggering along them. However, Pinkie Pie suddenly realized something; even though she had reunited with her friend, she had no clue what her friend's name was anymore.

"Something on your mind, cherub?" the voice asked. Pinkie Pie smiled at this nickname before she blushed in embarrassment, "Well, I feel kinda dumb for this… but I've forgotten your name". The voice merely laughed and replied "That's fine, Pinkie. You shouldn't worry about things like _that_ ".

Pinkie Pie was enjoying this voice, as she found the way it spoke to her to be really comforting. The voice explained "You actually gave me your _full_ name, because you said you preferred _Pinkie_ ". Suddenly, Pinkie Pie lost control of her body and stopped in her track, her eyes narrowing and her smile widening.

"Pinkamena".

As this was said, Pinkie Pie spotted an approaching pony emerging from the mist, the pony having an unmistakable orange coat and a cowboy hat. Before she could react, Applejack had already spotted her and began approaching her. Flustered, Pinkamena retreated into the mist and ran to a nearby alleyway, grunting angrily "Great! She's knows we're here now!"

Both personalities could hear the hoofsteps approaching from behind them and turned to face Pinkie Pie's former friend. Applejack entered the alleyway and said "Pinkie Pie, I was just comin' ta see ya-" before falling silent, taken aback by Pinkie Pie's appearance.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural, healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

Pinkamena approached the visibly fearful pony and smiled wickedly, "Well if it isn't our former friend, Applejack" Pinkamena sneered sarcastically, "And what would you be doing out on a night like this?"

Applejack answered "I was gonna ask _ya_ the same thing, but… Pinkie Pie, what happened to yar voice?" as she stepped back cautiously. Pinkie Pie giggled and answered "My voice is just fine" in her typical pitch. "But uh… ya just talked like… What is going on with ya, Pinkie Pie?"

"Well, I guess you could say… I've come to terms with myself recently" before chuckling creepily.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie turned away against her own will as Pinkamena grunted impatiently. "Pinkie Pie, why are we just standing around talking to this hag?! … Pinkamena calm down. … We're wasting time here, let's just get back to-".

"Uh… Pinkie Pie?" Applejack questioned, disturbed beyond belief by this spectacle before her. "Shut up, you! We're talking here!" Pinkamena retorted with venom in her tone. Applejack tilted her head and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Pinkie Pie.

"Okay… _Somethin'_ is _definitely_ wrong here, Pinkie Pie" Applejack stated, "Are ya feelin' alright, Pinkie Pie? Cuz ya're really beginning ta worry me". "Absolutely not" Pinkie Pie answered with an unnerving smile, "I've never felt better in my life". "Well, you talking in two different voices is not convincing me. What's going on?" Applejack questioned.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and answered "If you must know, I've made a new friend recently". "What… ya don't mean…" Applejack began before Pinkie Pie interrupted her. "She's really nice to me, and she understands me perfectly. She was there for me after you all scared me to death!" Pinkie Pie growled. Pinkamena then added "I am everything to my cherub that _you_ all could never hope to be."

"Pinkie Pie… ya're telling me that ya felt so lonely… that ya befriended _yaself_?" Applejack asked, before lowering her head and shaking it in disbelief. "Pinkie Pie, I know ya like ta do really goofy things, but that's just stupid".

Pinkie was in awe of this comment, before she clenched her teeth angrily and sarcastically replied, "Well, how nice of you to call me stupid, Applejack. That you so much!"

However, Pinkamena was utterly outraged by this pony's arrogance, and had had enough of it. In the end, she took it upon herself to settle this matter her own way.

With a slug between the eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, within the Town Hall, the annual April Fools competition awards were being readied for announcement. All of the guests who attended had spent most of the party gorging themselves on party snacks and drowning their thirsts in any liquid substance.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was still stricken with guilt for what she did to Pinkie Pie, and had been throughout the entire party. Across from her table, Twilight and the others were still annoyed with her for it too, but they came to understand that Rainbow Dash was only trying to help, even if it hadn't work out the way she expected.

As Twilight was downing her… whatever it was, she looked beside her, where Rainbow Dash was sitting. She downed whatever was left in her pint and placed it on the table, before turning to face the pegasus.

"Hey Rainbow… sorry for getting angry at you earlier" she said, grabbing Rainbow's attention. "I thought you were just trying to irritate her more for just some more laughs" Twilight explained, though Rainbow Dash simply sighed and hung her head in shame.

"I've messed up so badly… The retribution for this is gonna be insane" she predicted before grabbing a new pint.

Soon enough, a pony entered the stage and approached to podium, announcing "And the winner of the umpteenth April Fools anniversary and competition goes to…". She retrieved a slip of paper from the central podium and read it aloud, "Rainbow Dash!"

The blue pegasus slammed her head on the table, grumbling under her breath "Hooray for me". As Rainbow left her seat and flew to the stage to accept her prize, Twilight turned to face the main entrance.

"Hey, where is Applejack? She should have been here by now".

* * *

"Gergh…".

Applejack finally emerged from her unconscious state, shifting slowly and wearily opening her eyes. She looked around the room and recognised it as Pinkie Pie's living room, and she was currently sitting on a couch. As she attempted to move, however, she found herself immobile, courtesy of the duct tape binding her legs together.

Pinkie Pie, in the meantime, was in the kitchen, conversing with Pinkamena. "This is what you've been waiting for, Pinkie. Are you excited?" Pinkamena asked enthusiastically, awaiting Pinkie Pie's ever-so positive attitude.

Pinkie, for her part, was not excited in the least. Instead, Pinkamena's violent actions had made Pinkie Pie uncomfortable.

"What's wrong, cherub?" Pinkamena asked, "I don't feel good about this anymore. … What? Didn't you wanna get back at them? … I did, but I didn't think we were gonna _hurt_ them!"

As they bickered, they entered the living room and spotted their conscious captive, who gasped and unfocusedly asked "Pinkie Pie… why am I… tied up?" Pinkamena chuckled fiendishly and answered "You just be quiet, that knockout punch was only the beginning of what coming up next".

From these words, Pinkie Pie cried "Pinkamena, this isn't what I wanted at all! … What do you mean? … I wanted to get back at them, but not like _this_. … Don't worry, it'll feel satisfying once we start". Pinkie Pie fell silent for a moment before responding, "Pinkamena… you're really starting to scare me".

Meanwhile, Applejack's absence from the town hall had prompted Rainbow Dash and the others to search for her. They had traveled from the town hall to Sugarcube Corner, knowing Applejack had probably attempted to make amends with Pinkie Pie.

They arrived at the front door, and as Rainbow Dash was about to open the door, the group heard a series of noises from inside. "We have to do this now, Pinkie Pie! … No! Pinkamena, this is wrong! … I'm your friend, Pinkie Pie! You have to trust me with this! _They_ don't care about you! They all hate you!" Pinkamena argued.

Rainbow Dash was awed by this, and wondered who it was conversing with their comical friend. She carefully twisted the doorknob to find it locked, though Twilight compensated this by unlocking the door with her magic.

The door creaked open, and Rainbow Dash proceeded carefully inside. She peaked around the corner and was horrified by what she saw. "Pinkamena, this has to stop! … No! Cherub, they need to pay for what they did to you!" Pinkamena argued.

Rainbow Dash couldn't fathom why Pinkie was talking to herself in two voices, but it was clear what caused it. The pegasus knew that Pinkie Pie's grief had driven her to the brink of insanity, as she had seen before, but never to this extent. Listening to Pinkie plunge into insanity was beyond what her heart could bear, and she knew exact what she had to do to stop it.

Suddenly, Pinkamena turned to Applejack and shouted "Too much wasted time! We're doing this now! … Pinkamena, stop doing this! This is twisted and evil! … This is justice! I'm gonna give her what's coming, even if _you_ won't! … Pinkamena, don't make me a monster! … Cherub, be quiet! … Be quiet _yourself_!"

"I'M SORRY!"

Pinkie Pie turned to find Rainbow Dash standing in the open, having jumped from cover in a fit of impulse. "I'm sorry for everything!" the pegasus continued, "I'm sorry for the prank! I'm so sorry for what I did to you!"

She lowered her head distraughtly, then quickly added "I was really stupid for doing that! I didn't think it would be so bad! I never considered it! I'm so stupid! I'm such a terrible friend, Pinkie Pie! I'M A DISGRACE!"

While Pinkie Pie was distracted by Rainbow Dash's rant, Twilight and Fluttershy took the opportunity to free Applejack from her bonds, and they all watched as Rainbow Dash continued.

"You're way too nice to have these things happen to you. You had every right to be angry with me!" Rainbow Dash concluded. Pinkie Pie thought back to earlier this evening and realized that Rainbow Dash never apologized for the prank. And from this outburst, it was clearly genuine.

Pinkie stepped towards Rainbow Dash and sat in front of her, "I'm the one who should be sorry" she stated. "I really overreacted over all of this, but I… completely lost it… and I wanted to hurt you for it". Pinkie Pie cringed as her eyes welled with tears, "I really am a monster".

"No!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, "You deserved to be angry, Pinkie Pie… I just wish it was me that you…"

"Stop it! Don't say that! You're my best friend! I can't bear to think of doing that to you!" Pinkie screamed in despair. Rainbow stepped away from her friend and cleared her throat, "I should at least make it up to you for all of this".

From these words, Pinkie Pie jumped up from the floor and gleefully shouted "Why didn't you say so!" Pinkie Pie stepped towards the door, "Let's go somewhere fun! Maybe get something to eat!" Applejack's head perked as she offered "We'll, the April Fools party is still going on right now".

* * *

For the remainder of the night, the six friends returned to the Town Hall to enjoy what remained of the meals and festivities. Throughout the course of the night, Pinkie Pie had wanted that any notion of Pinkamena or Applejack's kidnapping be kept secret by her friends.

All the while, Pinkie had wondered whatever happened to Pinkamena, since the latter had fallen silent ever since Rainbow's apology. Perhaps Pinkamena was just a figment of her grief, and she had just created her to overcome her loneliness. Whatever the case, Pinkamena was no longer any sort of threat as of now.

After the night was done, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash decided to leave together, giving her the chance to describe all the things that Pinkamena had told her. Behind her awe, Rainbow Dash was truly fascinated by what Pinkie Pie was telling her.

As they continued down the street, Pinkie Pie's attention was drawn to a nearby shop window. She could see her reflection, but she was not met with a friendly face. Her reflection returned a soulless stare as her mouth twisted into a fiendish grin. From somewhere in her mind, she heard a feminine voice speak.

"Don't forget about me, Pinkie Pie… Because I'm not going to forget about you!"


	3. Rainbow Favoured Part 1

**MLP: Rainbow Favoured. Part 1**

It was Tuesday morning, and a relatively peaceful one, as most of Ponyville's populous had decided to remain indoors for a majority of the weekend. A decent excuse for this behaviour stemmed from the abominable weather they were currently experiencing, as the town was relentlessly bombarded from the boiling heat wave.

Anypony that wasn't forced to resort to remain in their homes for protection were roaming Ponyville, searching for any additional means to cool themselves off. Most were submerging and relaxing in the public swimming pool, while others would visit the café for chilled drinks and cold snacks to consume.

And incidentally, whether by coincidence or mutual intent, five of the customers within this abnormally crowded café were none other than Pinkie Pie and her friends. Whatever the case, they each had come to the café with similar intent, and as they sat at their favourite table, they sought to down their respective drinks.

While they spent time drowning their thirsts, they would find time to chat about the abysmal weather along with other concerning matters, including the unknown whereabouts of their missing comrade Rainbow Dash, who was supposed to attend a demonstration for the Wonderbolts.

Soon enough, as if by fate's will, the five table members took notice of a newcomer approaching the main entrance, sporting a distinct blue coat and a multi-coloured mane.

"Hey! Rainbow Dash's here" Pinkie Pie beamed cheerfully, and the rest turned to welcome her with a series of smiles. However, the moment Rainbow Dash pushed passed the doors and entered inside the complex, their smiles immediately vanished. Rainbow approached the counter and bought herself a milkshake, before she exhaled angrily and approached the five's table. Curiosity overwhelmed Twilight as she soon felt obligated to question this behaviour.

"What's the matter with _you_?" Twilight asked smugly, a smile creeping across her cheeks from Rainbow Dash's frustration. "Greaah! I almost had it! And I _would've_ , if not for this stupid heat wave!" the pegasus complained, and then she hung her head in shame and sighed. "Long story short… the demonstration was a disaster" she groaned under her breath as she sat between Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

Despite the intended pity this confession was supposed to provide her from her consultants, Pinkie Pie and the others couldn't help but stifle their contained laughter from her rather unsophisticated outburst. The group finally couldn't withstand the sensation and all simultaneously burst out laughing, and even Rainbow Dash, as peeved as she was, couldn't help but join them in their laugh.

However, as she and her friends laughed heartily at this misfortune, Pinkie Pie abruptly fell silent as her attention was diverted. A light buzzing sound filled her ears and she felt her head begin to throb. She gently laid her temple against her hooves in an attempt to quell the pain, though such proved utterly futile. Was it a headache? Whatever it was, it was slowly getting worse.

Applejack was the first to notice Pinkie's behaviour and asked curiously "Hey… Is somethin' wrong, Pinkie Pie?" This question went unnoticed by her obviously pained colleague, as the irritating buzzing rapidly became the only sound she could hear.

She sat against the backrest of her seat in silence, pressing her hooves against her forehead as hard as she could. This agony she was in was so completely unbearable, it had begun impairing her connection to reality. Her chest began unleashing bombarding waves of pain and her forehead was drenched in flowing sweat, while the rest of her body felt numb and lifeless.

However, after a few moments, she could hear another faint sound amidst the onslaught of unbearable noise, resembling some mismatched hybrid between an echo and a whisper. This alienating sound seemed rather distant, as if the source of the noise was vocally restrained in some manner.

From within the random jumble of chittering and scraping that rang in her ears, the faint whisper of "Pinkie Pie… Hello… Pinkie Pie…" echoed in a repetitive fashion. Pinkie could think about nothing else but this foreign whisper as it began blaring within her head, growing louder and more excruciating by the second.

For what felt like a millennia, Pinkie Pie endured this audiological torment, and she was left powerless to stop it. Eventually, the horrendous throbbing thankfully began to fade, and Pinkie slowly began regaining her original composure. Her hearing was first to return in full, only to be bombarded by panicked screams and shouts from her long neglected observers.

" _Pinkie Pie?! Hello?! Pinkie Pie!?"_ , _"Pinkie Pie, Wake Up!"_ and _"Pinkie Pie, are you okay?!"_ all rang deeply into her eardrums, almost as painfully as the prior sound that had done so. Nevertheless, she had to end this auditory onslaught.

"Ugh… I'm…" she managed to force from her strained lungs, before she lost her voice from exhaustion. She soon regained her sense of touch, and soon realised she was still seated in the café. She leaned back against the backrest and groaned in discomfort, attempting to find the most comfortable position to aid in regaining her prior status.

"Oh my- Are you alright, Pinkie Pie!?" yelled an agitated Rainbow Dash frantically. Pinkie slowly leaned forward, soon feeling two pairs of arms supporting her form from both sides. "Yeah, uh… I… don't know. What happened?" she muttered breathlessly.

"Uh, well… You kinda went weird on us. Twilight thought you were having a fit" Fluttershy explained. "Ack! Don't tell her that!" Twilight shouted, slapping Fluttershy's mouth shut to keep her from continuing this explanation.

This reaction was quickly forgotten by all and redirected towards subject material, her eyes opening slightly to regain her vision. "I dunno what happened… I just had a headache, and then all I could hear was a buzzing noise" Pinkie explained, "Uh… Well, it's fine now. I think I'm just feeling a bit tired. I haven't been getting a lot of sl-".

Everything instantly went black.

* * *

Blackness had consumed. Her mind was clouded. She couldn't think properly. She couldn't move, she couldn't hear or see anything. This purgatory she was engulfed in had taken her from the real world for what felt like an eternity.

"…ie…"

A sound; at long last, a sound.

"…ake u…"

Again, the sound of a voice filled her ears; but unfortunately, she couldn't recognise it.

"…re you awa…"

By this time, she felt her body begin regaining its former strength, and her eyes slowly opened, only to be met with bright, blinding light. On instinct, she shut them immediately.

"WAKE UP!"

"Ughhh…" she grunted breathlessly, opening her eyes a second time and scanning her gaze over her surroundings, and immediately recognised the room by its plain white walls and the sound of beeping monitors.

She struggled to lean up from her ward bed and looked around the hospital ward, finding nopony in her line of sight, and prepared to step out of the ward bed. Suddenly she was stopped when grabbed by the arm from behind, before a familiar voice whispered "Wait! Stay in bed, Pinkie Pie". Pinkie Pie turned to smile at the purple unicorn, who called out "Hey, girls! Pinkie Pie's awake again!"

"She is?!" cried multiple different, yet recognisable voices from across the room. Pinkie Pie turned to face the source as she lay her head against the pillow again. Twilight gave a loving smile to her bedbound colleague as she placed a hoof in her mane and stroked it gently.

Pinkie Pie returned the smile as she looked ahead towards the doorway, finding Fluttershy entering and approaching her bedside. Soon enough Applejack and Rarity followed afterwards and had surrounded Pinkie Pie, who was mentally preparing herself to any their oncoming questions.

"Pinkie Pie, are ya alright?" Applejack asked with genuine concern. "Ugh… What… happened to me _this_ time?" Pinkie Pie asked weakly, barely able to turn her head to face them. "We don't know! You fainted in the café and you wouldn't wake up!" Fluttershy answered, "Twilight said we should take you here".

Pinkie Pie fixed her single open eye on Twilight and smiled weakly at her, who blushed from this unforeseen attention. "W-well it seemed like the best idea" Twilight stammered nervously. Pinkie Pie laid her head on the pillow and sighed comfortably.

"I just wonder what the heck happened" Rarity stated with her arms raised, "At first you looked like you were about to pass out, and then you went back to normal, and then passed out anyway!"

"Pinkie Pie probably had a stroke" Twilight explained to the group, "Probably from how hot it is outside". Pinkie Pie thought for a moment, her knowledge of pony biology being fairly limited.

She began saying "That… makes sense" before losing her voice, coughing harshly as she couldn't gather enough strength to sit up from the bed. "Don't say anything, Pinkie Pie" Twilight instructed as she held her hoof against Pinkie's chest, "We'll help you get home". With Applejack and Fluttershy on either side of her, Pinkie Pie stepped out from her bed and staggered wearily towards the door.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" she asked, curious of the missing member of their group. Twilight and Applejack looked to eachother and frowned sternly, before Twilight answered "She had a meltdown and stormed off after we brought you here". "What? She must be pretty angry, then" Pinkie Pie stated, Applejack replying "Well, she _has_ had a lot of stress building up in her today".

* * *

The group of four carefully approached the main entrance with their fatigued friend following not far behind. As they left the building, they were pleased to find that the intense heat had relented, leaving a comfortable temperature to compensate.

While the rest of the group felt relieved from this revelation, Pinkie Pie was all but invigorated by the cooler temperature. She felt her strength returning as she managed to maintain a fluent motion while she walked. She relieved a blissful sigh as she exclaimed "Wow! I feel better already!", Twilight smiling to her and replying "That should make it easier to get back to Sugarcube Corner".

Eventually, Sugarcube Corner loomed into the group's line of sight, and Pinkie Pie ecstatic to return home. However, as she made her way with her friends to the front door, she suddenly lost all strength in her body and she collapsed forward.

"Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she quickly caught her, all while Twilight helped to stand her up and keep her steady. "Pinkie Pie, tell me! Are you okay?!" Rainbow Dash asked fearfully, Pinkie Pie opening her eyes and answering "No… don't feel… good…" before swooning unsteadily.

"I'll carry you, Pinkie Pie. Get ready" Twilight offered as her horn glowed a light shade of orange. Before Pinkie Pie could respond, had she been capable of doing so, she felt her body's mass decrease instantly as she levitated into the air. Pinkie Pie knew not to do anything while in this state and remained unmoving, allowing Twilight to concentrate as they approached the front door.

Applejack opened the door for the rest of the group and Twilight entered first, carrying Pinkie Pie upstairs and into her bedroom. Finally, she placed Pinkie Pie on her bed as the latter squirmed and fidgeted weakly from her physical state.

"How are you feeling?" Twilight asked as the rest of the group entered the room. Pinkie Pie grunted feebly before opening her eyes, answering "Feeling better now… relaxed". Twilight smiled as she answered "By the way, can I just mention how hard it was for me to carry you?" with a smug grin.

Pinkie Pie lifted her head and tilted it in confusion, "Why? Couldn't you concentrate or something?" she asked before suddenly realising her meaning. From it, she pulled a stern glare towards Twilight, who was giggling alongside the others.

Pinkie Pie lay her head back against the pillow and relieved an irritated sigh, "Very funny…".

* * *

Pinkie Pie spent the rest of her morning and much of her afternoon in her home, slowly recuperating from her experience and remaining wary of overtaxing actions. She spent the morning remaining in her bedroom, but she eventually believed herself capable during the course of the afternoon.

She steadily returned to her energetic lifestyle, delightfully bounding throughout the household and preparing pastries and snacks for her store. Since her return home, she hadn't any sudden fits of fatigue and felt much closer to how she did earlier this morning, and the decreasing outside temperature acted as her reassurance for this fact.

Soon enough, the doorbell rang, but Pinkie Pie didn't need to speculate who was visiting. Her friends decided to leave her to recuperate for the day, and promised to return and check on her at a later time. She stood before the front door and opened it for her guests, smiling as she counted them off.

Twilight stepped inside first and greeted "Hey, Pinkie Pie! It's good to see you're looking better" before Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack followed after her. Pinkie Pie's smiled faltered at the absence of Rainbow Dash, but simply shrugged and shut the door. "Is there anything I can get you girls?" Pinkie Pie offered, Twilight and the others each pausing to consider their requests.

"Have ya got any cider?" Applejack asked with a hopeful smile, "They didn't have any in the café". Pinkie Pie shook her head, replying "No. But I do have Milkshakes and Sundaes". Applejack's smile disappeared as she sighed "Aw… But in that case, I'll have a chocolate sundae". "I'll have the same" Twilight intervened, Pinkie Pie smiling as she shouted "Coming right up!" before rushing of into the kitchen.

Within an astounding ten seconds, both ponies suddenly found themselves enjoying their ordered sundaes. "So how are you feeling so far?" Fluttershy asked curiously, Pinkie Pie simply shrugging and replying "A ton better than I did this morning! That rest really did make a huge difference".

"I thought it would" Twilight answered confidently, before she added "And besides, I thought it would be better than spending the day in that hospital bed". Pinkie cringed playfully as she exclaimed, "Tell me about it! I felt like I was sleeping on a pile of sandbags".

Twilight chuckled and concluded "In any case, I'm glad to see you've recovered. I had a feeling if anypony could recover from a stroke so quickly, you certainly could".

As Pinkie Pie heard this, her smile descended as she held her arm sheepishly, "Girls. I hope you realise how grateful I am for all of this". "Gal, please! That's what we do for friends!" Applejack replied, but Pinkie Pie shook her head and continued "No, I'm serious! I really appreciate all of this!"

Twilight tilted her head and asked "Why? We just did what we do all the time" before Pinkie answered "But you girls would always help me when I needed it… but you girls". Pinkie Pie fell silent for a moment, "… never usually need my help with anything".

"Well, what did you expect? You're useless to us".

Pinkie Pie's eyes immediate gaped open in astonishment as she turned to Twilight. What? What did she just say to her? That was possibly the rudest thing she had ever heard said about her. Why would Twilight say something so hurtful right in front of her?

"No kiddin'" Applejack began, "How come Pinkie Pie is allowed to do nothing useful while we do all the work?!" Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to speak, but found herself speechless from this banter. "And then Pinkamena! Pinkie Pie's just allowed to hurt us whenever she gets a little angry?! What the heck is wrong with you, Pinkie Pie?!"

"What?" Pinkie muttered in a mere whisper, incapable of comprehending what she was hearing from her own friends. Rarity stepped forward and demanded "Shut up, Pinkie Pie! You don't have a say in this… or _anything_ for that matter. You don't do enough to deserve any recognition".

Pinkie stepped back and trembled fearfully, "Y-you… don't actually mean that… do you, girls?" Twilight stared down upon the cowering Pinkie Pie, "Don't you dare believe otherwise, Pinkie Pie. I know it's the truth, and you know it too!" Pinkie Pie could no longer handle this, and finally fell to the floor and curled up in a fit of dismay.

Pinkie Pie knew that she couldn't escape this, and that she wasn't even hiding, but she refused to face her friends after what they had said about her. She knew that her four friends were still standing above her, possibly watching her in expectation of a change in activity.

She knew that no matter how hurtful their words were, there was a sense of validation to them. And above all, she knew that deep down, in the deepest pit of her heart, she really was just useless. Suddenly, upon contemplating these thought, Pinkie Pie no longer felt the need to hide from her friends.

Pinkie Pie stood up from the floor, her head lowered and a plain expression on her face. Her eyes were shut and her breath was fluent. Pinkie Pie felt calm and relaxed from this sensation she felt, as if she was being embraced by a warm blanket and given to option to sleep.

The world around her seemed to fade into a mere memory as she allowed herself to succumb to this state of slumber. However, her body was still functioning, despite what Pinkie Pie was aware of. Her body opened its eyes to reveal a sinister glare, and her teeth clenched tightly with rage.

"The April Fool's prank…" Pinkie Pie's mouth spoke through her clenched teeth, "Rainbow Dash's apology… Everything that you all did for her…". Twilight and Applejack tilted their heads in a synchronised fashion as Pinkie Pie lowered into a crouched position. "All of it! It was all just one big joke!" Pinkie Pie shouted, before releasing a bestial growl as she leapt at her four observers.

Before she could react, Applejack felt herself stumble backwards and collapse against the floor. Dazed from the impact, she wearily stared upwards towards her attacker, who returned a cold stare to her victim.

"You've all really crossed the line".

 **To be continued…**


	4. Rainbow Favoured Part 2

**MLP: Rainbow Favored. Part 2**

Dusk was approaching, and most of Ponyville's citizens had left the streets, providing plenty of room for a certain blue pegasus to roam. Rainbow Dash grumpily stomped her way through the streets, and had done so for several hours to overcome her frustration. As of late, everything had been going wrong for her, and she could barely comprehend the circumstances of each complication.

"Well, that is just perfect! I botch my flight presentation, I'm ridiculed for it by my friends, and now Pinkie Pie is in the hospital". She grumbled to herself as her eyes teemed with frustration. She shouted to herself "How could things get any worse!?"

"Get outta my way!" yelled a voice from behind her. Before Rainbow could react in any fashion, however, she was suddenly pushed to the ground by an unnoticed passer-by. She simply laid in the dirt for a few seconds as she listen to the sound of hoofsteps fading into the distance.

Finally, she jumped to her hooves and snarled angrily through her clenched teeth. "Right! That's it!" Rainbow announced, having finally lost her sense of rationality. Without a second thought, she rocketed into the air and raced after the culprit, with an intent to give them what was due.

Rainbow soared through the winding streets and flew between houses. After a short search, she eventually spotted the perpetrator and descended from the air, halting when she was only several feet away from them.

Intending to gain their attention, she shouted "Hey _you_ , chump! Who do you think you're butting heads with!? If you ever do that again, I'm gonna-" before abruptly losing her voice.

Her heart ceased its natural rhythm as she finally realised who it was that she had confronted. The culprit turned to face Rainbow, revealing herself to be Pinkie Pie, although there were several noticeable differences about her appearance.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

Suddenly realising who it was that she was prepared to relieve her welling stress upon, Rainbow became utterly petrified and quickly attempted to avoid a drastic confrontation between the two of them.

"Oh… uh… y-you're not who I was l-looking for. It must have been somepony else" she nervously mumbled. Pinkamena stared at the impulsive pegasus with cold eyes and a disgusted sneer, clearly unconvinced by this poorly executed statement. "Get outta there!" Rainbow Dash's long-absent rationality screamed within her mind before she rocketed off into the sky.

As she prepared to fly away, she looked back for a quick second to find that Pinkamena was still standing motionless, staring at her with burning eyes. Rainbow Dash's breath ceased as she realised the reason why, Pinkamena was waiting for her to try and hide from her.

No matter how far she flew away or where she would hide, Pinkie Pie could always outrun her and beat her to her desired destination. Pinkamena was probably intending to do the same.

Despite this, the tension became overwhelming for her, resulting in her soaring off as fast as she could in a fit of impulse.

Rainbow couldn't believe her luck could descend to such a level, "That was Pinkamena! I can't believe it!" she stammered nervously. This was the first time in a long while that she was truly scared her own health, and from an understandably threatening predicament.

Soon enough, a thick overgrowth of woodland entered her field of view and she immediately dove into a small gap within the treetops. She dug her way through the swaying branches and landed among the wilderness of vegetation and plant-life. The light of the sun had passed from view, shrouding her environment in an atmospheric darkness.

She quietly looked around for any sign of Pinkamena's presence, pleased to find naught but the sound of birds and the rustling of the branches overhead. She leaned against a nearby tree and sighed with relief.

However, as she became relaxed by her solitude, she tensed from a warm gust of air against the back of her neck, paralysing her with fear. Suddenly, she felt a soft and wet surface against her neck, and she jumped away in a panic and turned to face the culprit. Pinkamena smiled mischievously at the pegasus, her tongue sliding across her teeth in satisfaction.

"Well… If it isn't the girl that made my cherub so miserable".

Rainbow Dash remained silent, slowly stepping back as Pinkamena approached her. "I've wanted to see you again" the sinister persona admitted, flashing a large grin and exhaling with excitement. "You already used Pinkie Pie for your amusement before" Pinkamena reminded, "I hope you don't also abuse her when you're angry… because that's how it looks to _me_ ".

"What! No!" Rainbow Dash blurted out in denial, "I'm just… having a bad day today… And I didn't realise it was you, I swear!" Pinkamena raised an eyebrow as she kept a sceptical expression on her face, before turning away to consider the situation.

"Actually…" Pinkamena soon began, Rainbow listening intently as Pinkamena turned to face her again, her sinister gaze piercing into the pegasus' soul. "You already have to make it up to Pinkie Pie for that prank of yours" Pinkamena explained, "So now… I guess…. You have to make it up to me for threatening me".

"So… you want a favour?" Rainbow Dash questioned, seeking clarity on Pinkamena's intent, "What do you want me to do?"

Pinkamena then snapped "I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T NEED YOU FOR IT YET!" before regaining her composure. With a deep breath, she snarled viciously "So you're fine… for _now_ ".

Pinkamena then turned and disappeared into the darkness of the woodlands, before concluding "When I need you for that favour… I know where to find you". Rainbow Dash continued to stare into the darkness that Pinkamena disappeared into, completely baffled by her situation.

She realised that despite learning of Pinkamena's return, she couldn't fathom what would have triggered the anomaly's reappearance. At no point during the week did Pinkie Pie behave strangely, neither was she wronged in any way that would prompt Pinkamena's return. The only clue she had for this outcome was this morning's incident in the café.

Perhaps there was more to that than she realised.

* * *

Night finally fell on Ponyville and Rainbow Dash made her way along the streets, lost in thought of today's unrelenting series of problems. However, as she was making her way through the marketplace, she happened upon a familiar face, a certain purple unicorn approaching her.

"Twilight?! What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash called out across the streetway, Twilight stopping before her and catching her breath as an expression of panic on her face had met Rainbow Dash's eyes. "Pinkamena's back again! We need your help" Twilight explained, "She attacked Applejack and ran off!"

"What?! Is applejack alright?! Where is she?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed is shock, before Twilight intervened and answered "Applejack's just fine, she was just roughed up a little. She's at her farm, but she should be better soon". Rainbow Dash sighed with relief knowing that Applejack had escaped harm, but then asked "Well, what are we gonna do about Pinkamena _now_?"

Twilight explained "Well… Pinkamena's in Sugarcube corner right now, but we can't tell what she's up to". "We? You mean the others are there?!" Rainbow questioned, and Twilight replied "They're fine. Pinkamena hasn't left the house and their keeping an eye out".

Rainbow Dash and Twilight then walked alongside eachother through the winding streets, before finally reaching Sugarcube Corner. From outside, Rainbow Dash spotted Rarity and Fluttershy hiding from behind a nearby wall, and she approached the pair alongside Twilight. "Is she still inside?" Twilight asked, and Rarity answered "Nope. She hasn't left yet".

"So what are we gonna do?" Fluttershy asked, "I don't think we'll be able to talk to Pinkamena". "We'll have to try" Rarity admitted before considering a solution, "If worse comes to worse, me and Twilight can cast a charm on her".

* * *

The group of four slowly approached the front door, remaining out of the indoor light cast through the windows. Rainbow Dash carefully crept up the stairway to the front door, twisting the knob slowly and opening the door. She stepped inside and looked around the room for any sign of the occupant, the living room appearing vacant. Rainbow Dash turned behind her and whispered "Quick! Get Inside!"

The others enter and began searching around the house, before Rainbow Dash stated "I'll bet she's up in her bedroom". From this, the pegasus crept up the staircase and walked along the hallway towards the bedroom.

"… would be a lot of fun, don't you think?"

Behind one of the doors, they heard a familiar voice and fell silent to hear what she was saying.

"But what about the house? ... Well, we can each have two halves of it, cherub. … And the bedroom? … We can get a double bed, and repaint the bedroom while we're at it. … And maybe we can get two closets, one for each of us. … That's a great idea! So where should it be, cherub? In the woods or by a beach? … Oh, the woods definitely. I hate the smell of seawater! … That makes sense" the pair of personas conversed with delight.

"What is she talking about?" Rarity whispered, wary of Pinkie Pie hearing them. "I think she's planning to move away!" Fluttershy exclaimed in sudden realisation.

Pinkie Pie then said "And we'll find somewhere far away from this place. … No kidding! It's a problem when phonies are constantly leeching off of your back. … I'm so sorry, Pinkamena! You were always trying to tell me, but I didn't believe you. You were right all along. … I know, I heard the whole thing. They were so rude to you! … I thought that they could be so mean to me, but _this_ was something else entirely".

This was incomprehensible for her friends to hear; they had never heard this from her in the time they've spent with her. Was what she was saying now what she really thought, or was it just Pinkamena poisoning her against them; either way, Rainbow Dash couldn't bear the thought that these circumstances could be the reality.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the ragtag team of infiltrators, Pinkie Pie had stopped talking and the house became silent. The group soon realised this and each had redeveloped their sense of dread.

However, after eventually mustering enough courage, Rainbow Dash slowly twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. They all individually stepped into the room, but were met with a surprise; strangely, Pinkie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd she go?" Rarity asked fearfully, but was met with no answer. She then understood the reason for the lack of conversation, as the other three were too distracted by the state of the room itself. Pinkie Pie's room seemed relatively the same as always, but the furniture had been rearranged since the last time they saw it.

There was two of everything in her room; the left side had a book shelf and a collection of toys and stuffed animals aligned along a window sill, and the right side was symmetrically identical, down to the very millimetre. In the centre of the room was Pinkie Pie's bed, covered with a pink and violet quilt cover and a matching pillow.

"W-what's this all about? Why is there two of everything in here?" Fluttershy asked, bewildered by the bizarre layout of the furniture. "Perhaps it's for both her and Pinkamena to have one?" Twilight assumed curiously. "That's _pretty_ out there" Rarity admitted, "This is just getting stranger and stranger".

The moment this was said, Pinkamena stepped through the doorway of her bedroom and watched the ponies meander. She turned away and carefully shut the door before locking it, prompting Fluttershy, the closest to the door, to turn and find the source of the sound.

Within moments, Fluttershy felt her hair pulled towards the door and a pressure against her throat, forcing her to elicit a shriek of fright. Immediately, the trio turned to face Fluttershy to understand what was the matter, and were each frozen to the core with fear as they could see the cause.

"I knew you'd all come here!"

There, standing in a bipedal stance with Fluttershy held as a hostage, was the dual-personality pony herself. "Pinkie Pie, w-" Fluttershy began before a sudden tight pressure against her throat silenced her.

Twilight and Rarity were at a loss, with their friend in peril of potential harm. "Pinkie Pie, why did you bring Pinkamena back?! I thought-" Twilight began, before she was quickly interrupted.

"Pinkie Pie didn't bring me back, I came back on my own!" Pinkamena exclaimed, "I had after what you said to her this afternoon!" Rainbow Dash prepared to speak, before she paused to consider Pinkamena's statement, "What?"

"' _You've always been useless, Pinkie Pie!' 'You don't deserve any recognition!_ '" Pinkamena growled under her breath, her voice poorly imitating her friends. "DO ANY OF THESE RING A BELL!?" she shrieked in rage, though her voice also displayed a hint of despair.

Rarity stepped in and asked "At what point did we say _anything_ like that?" Before Pinkamena had the chance to answer the question, Twilight answered "Never! We'd never say that to you, Pinkie Pie. NEVER!"

"STOP LYING TO ME!"

This brought a silence to the argument; an atmospheric, almost deafening silence. The entire group, even Pinkamena herself, seemed shocked by this sudden outburst. Most likely because Pinkamena's wasn't the voice that shouted this accusation, but was Pinkie Pie's instead.

Pinkamena shut her eyes tightly and groaned in frustration, "Pinkie Pie, just calm down" echoed within Pinkie Pie's mind. "Why? After all they did to us? You were right about them the whole time! They're all liars!" Pinkie Pie shouted maniacally to herself. "You don't know… I mean, they might be telling the truth this time!" Pinkamena replied, out loud this time.

Pinkie Pie stood silently in the middle of the room, considering what this last sentence could mean, before replying "But that doesn't make sense… then _you'd_ be lying". Pinkie Pie then released Fluttershy from her grasp, the latter turning to face her and backing away in terror.

"But I didn't lie! … You lied to me, didn't you? … Cherub, just calm down. … I trusted you, Pinkamena! … Stop being stupid, Pinkie Pie. I'd never lie to you! … I attacked and hurt Applejack for a LIE?! … Pinkie Pie, stop getting angry! … SHUT UP! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I HATE YOU! Get… get… … ou…".

Sweat trickled down her neck as she suddenly lost all strength throughout her entire body. She fell to her knees as she slowly lost her senses, while her friends quickly rushed in to help her. She slowly fell forward and collided against the carpet floor, rapidly losing the energy to stay awake.

She couldn't understand what her friends were screaming to her, and didn't seem to care. Once again, darkness had engulfed her senses, and all control had slipped away from her for a second time. She shut her eyes and slipped away into unconsciousness.

* * *

Unbeknownst to her was while she was rendered motionless, her friends had carried her to her bed and left her to recover. After a few hours had past, she eventually did return to a portion of her former health, while awaking to a familiar sight.

She was currently laying in her bed and was comfortable laying in her bed. She turned to her clock to confirm the current time, the clock reading 3:00 am as its ticking faintly echoed faintly.

"Where did everypony go?" she asked into the cool night air, the question echoing throughout the room. Although she wasn't actually expecting an answer, an answer seemed to have been expecting her.

"Everypony's alright" answered a familiar voice from somewhere in the room. Pinkie Pie scanned her eyes throughout the room, and a certain blue pegasus to her left. "Everypony's gone home, and I offered to stay and keep an eye on you" Rainbow Dash explained, "What about… Pinkamena?"

Pinkie Pie tensed at the mere mention of the name, answering "She's gone now… She's done such bad things… to everypony". She sunk into the pillow and muttered to herself "Poor Applejack. I hope she didn't hurt her _too_ badly". Not wishing to discuss the matter further, she sighed before dozing off and laying back into her bed.

Rainbow Dash laid next to her bed and pondered Pinkie Pie's dilemma, attempting to fit the pieces together. Up until now, Pinkamena simply seemed to be a persona Pinkie Pie created in order to compensate for her loneliness. But as of now, Pinkamena had revealed itself to be something of an entirely different nature.

Also, according to Pinkie Pie, she had her split-personality since fillyhood, and they were apparently cooperative and relatively neutral. This only proved to confuse Rainbow Dash ever further, and fill her head with more questions to consider.

But by this time, a wave of fatigue swept over her as she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Ever since that night, Pinkie Pie's life seemed to return to normal, or at least, as normal as she and her friends could comprehend. Weeks passed without any mishap or incident, and for a while, everything in Equestria was in proper order.

Twilight theorised that Pinkie Pie suffered a hallucination due to the stroke and misinterpreted what her friends said, solving a large portion of the puzzle. Applejack recovered from her attack, but Pinkie Pie could never get over her guilt. Pinkamena never resurfaced at any occasion for the following weeks, and Pinkie Pie returned to her typical, loud and excitable self.

One day, however, Rainbow Dash had come back home from her daily routine and was looking forward to some rest. She enter her home and felt a sense of security as the door shut, though this sense was short lived.

As she entered the living room, she noticed a small letter resting on a seat, and scanned the envelope itself. Oddly, there was neither a name nor a postmark, meaning that it was delivered singlehandedly by the sender. She pulled out the paper from the envelope and unfolded it, and what she read froze her to the core with terror.

' _Don't forget the favour.'_

 **The End?**


	5. By the Book Part 1

**MLP: By the Book. Part 1**

It was a Sunday morning, as well as incredibly dismal for all its inhabitance to observe. An offensive onslaught of rain poured relentlessly upon the town, and no trace of life could be discovered along any of its winding streets.

During the entirety of this deluge, everypony had taken refuge within either their own homes or in the available shops or markets, multiple of which having closed up tightly out of fear of flooding.

Due to this, and rather predictably, the most crowded and overfilled of all possible shelters was the typically generous café. Among the customers within this, waiting to be served their respective meals, was none other than Pinkie Pie and her five colleagues.

As they waited, they chatted amongst themselves, while Pinkie Pie simply listened and would often respond to an occasional question. Throughout the entirety of the wait, Pinkie Pie didn't seem to have her natural joyful vibe, and seemed much more nervous and introverted.

It was only a matter of time before her friends would notice this unnatural behavior from her, as the scene she painted for them was beyond abnormal. "Hey, uh… Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash began, failing to hide her expression of concern, "Is something wrong?"

Pinkie Pie took several seconds to process the question, before she raised her head and quickly answered "No. Why?"

All of her friends looked at eachother with skeptical expressions, remaining unconvinced by her answer. "Well, you just seem very… well… on edge, today" Rarity admitted, before adding "Strangely unsocial as well".

Pinkie Pie's eyes darted between each of her colleagues, all staring in expectation of her answer. "On edge? Unsocial? Me?" she questioned, feigning confusion in the hope to convince her friends otherwise.

After a silence, Pinkie Pie lowered her head in shame and admitted "…Yeah, I… guess I have been a bit… down in the dumps recently". "What's getting ya down, gal?" Applejack asked, her head tilted to express her curiosity.

"Nothing to worry that much about… just some bad dreams I've been having" Pinkie Pie answered before abruptly yawning, "Gergh… I think I might need a change". "Perhaps a holiday, You can only party so long before your all partied out" Twilight recommended. "That's not my problem" Pinkie Pie admitted.

Fluttershy then boldly asked "It wasn't about Pinkamena, was it?"

A chilling atmosphere instantly fell on the table from Fluttershy's question.

"WHAT! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I WOULDN'T…" Pinkie Pie shouted, searching for an excuse to avoid this conversation. But from the mortified looks on her friends' faces, such an action would be futile. "I… well…" Pinkie Pie stuttered nervously, before slamming her head against the table, "Yes... she was there".

Awful memories of Pinkamena flooded the minds of her friends as they each traded nervous glances. They soon noticed that their friend that was sitting at her end of the table was now staring miserably at her half-drank milkshake. An awkward silence surrounded the table as the air around them grew heavier and thicker.

"I'm sorry for…" Pinkie Pie muttered as she shut her eyes tightly, before leaving the table and adding "I better get going". She began to take her leave as she instructed "You girls should have fun while I'm gone".

Practically on reflex to this act, Rainbow Dash dropped from the table and tried to run after her, yelling "Wait, don't go! It's not that big of a deal!" But by this time, Pinkie Pie was already leaving the café and heading out into the rain.

Rainbow Dash was in a predicament, now having to decide whether to follow Pinkie Pie, or to stay and discuss the situation with the others.

Eventually, she turned to the main entrance, watching as her troubled colleague disappeared into the bombardment of rain as the doors slowly closed shut. Rainbow Dash stepped through the doors and followed after her, not swayed by the weather in any fashion and persevering through the pouring rain.

"Pinkie Pie, wait! Where are you going?!" she called out to seize her attention. Pinkie Pie stopped in her tracks and turned to her, muttering "I'm going home" in response. Rainbow Dash stopped in front of her and frantically blabbered "Please come back to the café. We're not angry with you or anything, and you shouldn't worry over it".

Pinkie Pie didn't respond to this, but simply sat and shook her head as Rainbow Dash fell silent. For several moments, this silent lingered, only negated by the rain that hammered upon them. "Hey, Rainbow Dash… can I ask a question?" Pinkie Pie then asked, "And this means a lot to me, so be honest".

Rainbow merely nodded and listened for the question, before she noticed Pinkie Pie eyes beginning to water. "Am I… Am…" she stammered, to which the pegasus insisted "It's okay, Pinkie Pie. You don't have to-".

"Am I insane?"

Rainbow Dash's heart stopped from this question, the atmosphere of the situation finally coming full circle. She was taken aback and left speechless, unable to find a way to respond to this. She understood that having a split personality is one of the most recognizable forms of mental illness, but couldn't bring herself to elude anything by it towards her friend.

"I… I… You… I…" Rainbow Dash incoherently, though this was all the assurance that Pinkie Pie needed, and she sighed she with a misplaced sense of satisfaction. "Don't answer that. I really shouldn't ask questions when I know the answer" she winced dryly.

Immediately as she said this, the flood gates were opened, and Pinkie Pie shut her eyes tightly as tears leaked through. She turned away and wandered off down the street, leaving Rainbow Dash in astonishment. The moment Pinkie Pie disappeared from the pegasus' view, she heard the sound of hoofsteps and splashed from behind her.

They stopped behind her as Rainbow Dash turned to face her friends, Twilight stepping forward and asking "What happened?!" Rainbow Dash could find a suitable answer to this question, as her mind was focused on one simple question.

How could this depressing side to Pinkie Pie have come to be?

* * *

Pinkie Pie pushed her way through the front door of her pastry store, before blindly making her way across the main room and into her bathroom. Taking at towel, she dried her hair of the soaking dampness it encompassed before returning to the staircase.

She ascended to the second floor and staggered carefully towards her bedroom, shutting the door behind her as she approached her bedside. She huffed as she climbed into her bed and lay on her side against the pillow, attempting to get some rest after her return trip.

"I hate the sound of that rain… but I can't remember why" she thought to herself, hearing the raindrops impacting against her overhead window and discouraging her attempts at rest. She leaned up from the bead and suddenly felt a pain well within her head, prompting her to ley her temple against her ankles, "Wonderful. Now it's giving me a headache".

She leaned back against the bedframe and lay her head back against the glass, allowing its cool aroma to quell the pain generating within her head. She sighed blissfully as she relaxed against the glass panel, before a series of sounds caught her attention.

As she could have predicted, she heard the sound of her front door opening and several hoofsteps echoing up from the lower floor. She hadn't a need to wonder who it was, having a clear idea, and simply awaiting one of her sisters to enter her bedroom.

Soon enough, she heard the hoofsteps gather behind her bedroom door as the door itself opened, before a familiar voice whispered "Hey… Pinkie Pie?" Pinkie Pie smiled and replied "The door's open, Maud. Come in!" in a high pitched voice, the tone closely resembling a young filly rather than her typical tone.

Rainbow Dash stepped inside and muttered "Maud?" as she approached Pinkie Pie's bedside, watching Pinkie Pie curiously as she relaxed against the window. "Who is Maud?" she asked in confusion towards her friend, before explaining "It's me; Rainbow Dash".

Pinkie Pie had her eyes shut from the bliss she felt from the coolness that spread through her neck and the back of her head. "Your other friends are coming too. They should be here soon" Rainbow Dash explained, before Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Friends? Don't you mean…". Pinkie Pie, out of her confusion, opened her eyes and gazed upon her consultant.

"AAAAAGGHHH!"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell from her head and landed against the floor with a _'Thud!'_ , before she crawled towards the nearby corner of her bedroom. Rainbow Dash, frightened by Pinkie Pie's reaction, asked "What!? What's the matter?!" as she slowly rounded the bed and stepped towards her.

Pinkie Pie then leaned up against window in a manner similar to a cornered prey, fearful of her predator as it prowled towards her. "No! Please!" she cried in terror, tears surfacing in her eyes from pure fright, "No more! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me anymore!"

Rainbow Dash then grabbed Pinkie Pie and stood her up, the latter becoming paralysed from fear as she awaited oncoming harm. Instead, Rainbow Dash shook her by her shoulders and yelled "Pinkie Pie, I'm not going to hurt you! It's me! Open your eyes!" Pinkie Pie did as instructed and focused her eyes on her consultant, before coming to a realization.

Without preparation, Rainbow Dash was wrapped in a tight hug as Pinkie Pie cried against her shoulder, whimpering "Rainbow… you were… a monster!" Rainbow Dash raised her left arm and wrapped it around her best friend as she wept, bewildered by this explanation.

Sure enough, a familiar southern accent screamed "Pinkie Pie!" as Applejack approached the pair, followed swiftly by Fluttershy and Rarity. "Rainbow Dash, what happened to her?!" Rarity questioned, Pinkie Pie pulling away from the embrace and sitting back against the side of her bed.

Rainbow Dash straightened her posture and explained "Pinkie Pie told me that I looked like a monster for a second". Applejack sat beside Pinkie Pie as the latter leaned against her and lay her head against her shoulder, and Rainbow Dash concluded "I think she just had another hallucination". Pinkie Pie them raised her head and looked at Applejack, who listened readily.

"Where's T… Twilight?"

The group looked at one another before turning to the bedroom door, Fluttershy leaning her head out and curiously searching the hallway. Rainbow Dash, a disgusted sneer in her face, answered "That's a very good question. Where is Twilight?" before her sneer shifted into a stern scowl.

"If she just left to go home while we were heading here, I'm gonna-" Rainbow Dash growled before swiftly retaining a sturdy control of her temper, "What am I saying? What was I _going_ to say?!" Applejack looked up to the pegasus and replied "Just keep yar head on, gal. But ya're right! Why would Twilight be elsewhere while we're _here_!?"

Pinkie Pie detached herself from Applejack and stood up, rubbing her tears from her eyes with her ankles. "Sorry girls…" she said under her breath, "I need to be alone for a little while".

Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow and asked "Why? It's not that big of a problem", though Pinkie Pie was not swayed as she replied "It's not that". Pinkie Pie then stopped to consider her comment and corrected herself, "Well, it is… but…".

Applejack interrupted "That's fine Pinkie Pie. We'll let you rest", her other friends nodding in agreement. Pinkie Pie smiled in response, "Thanks so much… I'll be okay a little later".

"Alright. See ya later, gal" Applejack gleefully said as she left her bedroom and descended to the first floor, the other waving to her and following suit. The moment she heard the front door close shut, Pinkie Pie turned to her bed and climbed onto it, laying her head against the pillow and allowing her fatigue to claim her.

The rain from outside had lessened and no longer bombarded her house as she laid in her bed, allowing her to use the much calmer taps it emitted to lull her to sleep. "Now I remember why I hate the rain" she thought to herself.

"It reminds me of sad memories".

* * *

The hours passed until night fell, blanketing Ponyville under a cover of darkness. At the stroke of 9:00 pm, Pinkie Pie stirred from her sleep and groggily sat up from her pillow, rubbing her eyes of the excess sleep and sighing. "Wow…" she mumbled before abruptly yawning, "That's the best rest I've had in a while".

She jumped out from her bed and stumbled her way out of her bedroom, thinking to herself "I should do it more often". As she ungraciously trudged her way down to the first floor of the building, she soon discovered stars and a moon through the nearby window, indicating the time she had awoken by.

She reached the first floor and carefully fumbled her way through the dark, sweeping her hooves against the wall to find the light switch. She finally brushed against it and flicked it up, and immediately, the entire main entrance room filled with a warm light.

As she peered out towards her front door, she felt the urged to step outside and examine the stars. She felt a wave of nostalgia as she remembered her life on the rock farm, as her favorite hobby would be to stare that the stars before she went to bed.

While she wandered out the front door and staggered through the streets under the night sky, she began to wander around the street as she examined the many stars. She spent several minutes wandering, before she found herself in the marketplace.

However, as she began her journey back home, she spotted a familiar face making her way through the street. Twilight crept silently through the streets and entered the nearby pawn shop, her eyes darting nervously through the street for unwanted observers. "Huh? What's _she_ doing out so late?" Pinkie Pie wondered.

Pinkie Pie snuck behind the window of the barber shop and spied on the unicorn, the latter making several purchases from the shopkeeper. The elder pony offered a pair of book to her as she stuffed them into her bag, though Pinkie Pie couldn't see what they were about.

After a moment, Twilight began to make her way to the entrance, and Pinkie Pie quickly hid around the corner of the pawn shop. The paranoid unicorn looked around the street before making her way back to her library. Pinkie Pie eventually decided to follow her and see what she was rather poorly attempting to hide.

* * *

Pinkie Pie stayed out of Twilight's sight, and remained silent as not to arouse any undue suspicion. After a long while, Pinkie Pie finally trailed her all the way back to her home, the local library. Twilight opened the door and searched around the streets a final time, before finally entering inside.

Pinkie Pie waited for a few minutes until her bedroom light on the second floor shone through the window, signaling her chance to enter without being caught. Pinkie Pie slowly pushed the door open and shut it behind her, and she immediate heard familiar voices as she crept towards the bedroom stairwell.

"Hey! Take a chill pill, Twilight. You're _way_ too stressed out" echoed from Twilight's bedroom, followed by Twilight answering "Quiet! I need to think!" Pinkie Pie slowly approached the end of the stairwell and stopped just outside of Twilight's room, the voices slowly growing louder and clearer.

She peeked from behind her cover and found Twilight pacing back and forth in the middle of the room, and her dragon companion Spike watching her from atop her desk. Twilight growled in frustration "I can't be calm! I've been spending weeks trying to figure this all out".

She threw her hair back and wiped her brow shakily, before adding "And every time I come close to a solution, something _new_ happens that doesn't make any sense! IT'S UNBELIEVABLE!" Her purple dragon companion then whispered hesitantly "Careful, Twilight! You might end up waking the neighbors up!"

Twilight sighed and reluctantly decided to sleep her frustration off for the night, "I'll worry about it all tomorrow". She quietly stumbled her way upstairs to her bed while Spike followed her, each climbing into their respective beds as Twilight restlessly snuggled underneath her covers.

"I need to know what I'm missing, Spike. I have to know what ties it together. What is it?" Twilight huffed to Spike from over the foot her bed, before coming to a sudden realization. She gave him a puzzled expression and asked "Wait... why am I asking _you_?"

Spike rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he lay on his back, before replying "Umm, I dunno… maybe to stop _you_ from going crazy". "Ugh! Go to bed Spike, or I'll _really_ go crazy" she exclaimed, too weary to retaliate any further, or to even switch out the lights.

* * *

Pinkie Pie peaked into the bedroom, cautiously gazing throughout the room in search for Twilight. She nervously crept into the room and passed the aligning bookshelves, allowing her the chance to admire the organized layout of the room.

Even with a whole library for such a task, even Twilight's bedroom could suffice as its own independent library. "Only Twilight would put in this much effort in the layout of a room. Especially a bedroom" Pinkie Pie thought to herself as she view the books along the wall, "How in Equestria does Twilight remember where everything is?"

Eventually, Pinkie Pie spotted a lone desk at the end of the line of bookshelves, piled with several books and schematics. Pinkie Pie approached it and immediately recognised a pair of books on a clear space, the same books Twilight bought earlier. Pinkie Pie took one and read its cover, the title reading "Pony Psychology for Doofuses".

She was confused greatly by this, "Since when did Twilight become interested in Psychology?" she wondered. She laid the book back on the desk before she noticed Twilight's diary, opened to a specific page. Pinkie Pie leaned over the desk and decided to read what it said.

This proved to be an incredible mistake.

 **To be continued…**


	6. By the Book Part 2

**MLP: By the Book. Part 2**

 _ **Pinkie Pie**_

 _ **Conditions**_ _: Multiple Personalities, Visual and Auditory Hallucinations._

 _ **Multiple Personality Symptoms**_ _: Pinkie Pie is currently experiencing a second personality known as Pinkamena. This Pinkamena Personality is not only capable of controlling Pinkie Pie's body, but also manages to converse alongside Pinkie Pie herself. Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie seem to have a mutual relationship, though Pinkamena's distrust, and even irrational hatred for Pinkie Pie's other friends has made her incredibly hostile and dangerous._

 _ **Hallucination Symptoms**_ _: This symptom was possibly the result of a Stroke Pinkie Pie suffered from over exposure to the summer heat, though this remains unconfirmed. Pinkie Pie can often misinterpret what she sees and hears, though she has yet to describe them in detail._

* * *

Pinkie Pie was stunned, mortified by what she had just read. Twilight had been writing an entire biography about her, and she never told her? "What is all of-!" Pinkie Pie screamed before holding her mouth shut, praying to not have aroused Twilight from her sleep.

Pinkie Pie then considered the biography again, suddenly realizing several peculiar factors. Much of the information that was included actually happened at times when Twilight wasn't present to witness them, particularly when Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena conversed privately. Was Twilight secretly spying on them to document them?

Unfortunately, Twilight had indeed awoken from Pinkie Pie shout and had temporarily abandoned her slumber in order to investigate. She drowsily wandered down her staircase and stared towards her study desk, before gasping to herself and hiding behind the corner. She was shocked to see Pinkie Pie reading the text from the biography that she had kept secret.

Though this was shocking, more so was how Pinkie Pie began shaking uncontrollably from building frustration. Hesitant to concoct a plan of action, Twilight soon noticed a length of rope tied against a nearby stepladder and casted an enchantment upon it, levitating it towards the unsuspecting intruder.

In one swift motion, the rope ensnared Pinkie Pie by her hind legs and tightly bound them together, the sudden shift in balance sending her toppling onto her back with a _'Thud!'_. "Ow! Who…" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in pain, before the rope rapidly ensnared her front legs, rendering her completely immobile.

Twilight then ran to the desk and slammed the book shut, despite the secrets it contained having already been exposed. Pinkie Pie struggled to free herself from her bindings, before shouting "Twilight, what was that book!? And why'd you tie me up!? What's going on!?" Twilight ran to her bag and hastily stuffed the book inside it, before groaning in frustration.

"I'm so sorry, Pinkie Pie!" she exclaimed, before staggering beside her constricted colleague, "I'm trying to find a way to get rid of Pinkamena!" Pinkie Pie had sensed the urgency in her tone from when she entered the library, but never guessed that Twilight had dedicated her time to such a thing.

"But why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" Pinkie Pie asked distraughtly, finally surrendering to her immobility. "I'm sorry… I can't stand being in constant danger like this. I need to find a way to stop this madness and get things back to the way they were" she answered dismally.

Fully expecting a response, Twilight was surprised by a long period of silence that filled the room. She curiously turned to face Pinkie Pie, finding the latter simply laying still with an expression of disbelief on her face. "So that's it, then?" Pinkie Pie questioned breathlessly, "You think I'm just a danger to you?"

Twilight turned and exclaimed "Want?! No! I didn't mean it like that! I…" before she fell silent and hung her head in shame. She could understand Pinkie Pie's outrage from this discovery. Pinkie Pie leaned against the desk and huffed, before turning to face Twilight with a pair of glistening eyes.

"And why were you just spying on me and watching what I did?" Pinkie Pie asked, her voice spiteful in tone, "Do you really want to help me, or do you just want to document my actions like an experiment?"

Twilight was taken aback by this absurd accusation, but with further consideration, Pinkie Pie's assumption seemed more valid than is possibly should've. She couldn't decide to herself whether she truly did postpone actually helping Pinkie Pie in her dilemma in order to study and document her actions. As much as she detested the thought, this fact was indeed the reality.

"I hope Pinkamena gives you what's coming".

Twilights eyes widened as she gazed down upon her captive colleague. Pinkie Pie remained silent as she sat against the desk leg, her breath growing heavier as she shut her eyes tightly, aware of the inevitable. "She's gonna come back now…" she muttered softly, clearly enraged beyond rational thought.

Strangely, there was no answer from the unicorn, prompting Pinkie Pie to turn and face her captor. Twilight simply stood in the middle of the room, unmoving; she had no plan for this situation, but felt that such an ironic fate was justified. She stepped towards the center of the room and awaited her judgement.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the pair, Spike was awoken from all the screaming and made his way to the lower floor. He peaked inside peaked from behind the corner and was astounded by the scene he found. Pinkie Pie was tied by her legs in the corner, breathlessly heaving without relent, while Twilight stood motionlessly in the center of the room.

"Pinkie Pie might be changing into that second personality!" Spike thought to himself as she hid behind the door, "I gotta get somepony to help". Spike crept passed the door and ran down the stairs towards the front door, before taking off into the streets to find help.

Pinkie Pie reopened her eyes and gazed upon her hooves, pulling the ropes until they snapped clean from her ankles. Twilight heard the loud _'Snap!'_ and turned to face her captive, a cold chill running up her spine from the sight. Pinkie Pie stood up from the floor as the roped fell around her hooves,

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

"Oh… the things I'm gonna do to you".

* * *

Spike continued his way through the streets of Ponyville, running swiftly along the winding paths in search of anypony who could help. Being the later hours of night, all stores had closed up and all citizens were in their homes, either already asleep or preparing for it. Spike was running out of options, and grew evermore concerned for Twilight was every second that was wasted.

However, by a miracle if nothing else, he spotted a familiar face. He approached Sugarcube Corner and found Rainbow Dash and Applejack knocking on the front door. Spike wasted no time and ran to them, calling "Hey! Girls! Over here!"

The visiting pair turned to him and answered "Spike? What's the matter?!" Spike stopped before them and paused to catch his breath, before wheezing "You gotta help… Twilight's in trouble!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother in concern and paid close attention, "Why? What's happened?" Applejack inquired.

With one final puff, Spike looked up to the pegasus and explained "Pinkie Pie… she's at the library… she's turned into Pinkamena". Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she exclaimed "Pinkamena?! We've gotta get there _now_!" Without warning, Rainbow Dash stepped away from the door and reached down for Spike, lifting him and holding him tight with both arms.

"I'll meet you there, Applejack. Get there as soon as you can!" Rainbow Dash instructed, Applejack nodding in confirmation. The moment Applejack ran off into the streets, Spike braced himself against Rainbow Dash's arm as the latter lifted her wings. Within mere seconds, the pair were airborne, rocketing their way over the rooftops of Ponyville.

"So how do you know about Pinkamena?!" Rainbow Dash questioned, Spike hanging tightly against her arm as he replied "Twilight told me all about her!" Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow in surprise from this answer, "But we were supposed to keep it a secret!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the local library, Pinkamena paced in circles around the purple unicorn, the latter shivering in fear from the peril she had found herself in. Twilight was perfectly capable of defending herself from the likes of Pinkamena, but her morals and her feelings of guilt convinced her to remain docile.

Pinkamena sneered in disgust as she mocked "' _I can't keep being in constant danger like this'_ you say, Twilight. That's exactly the selfishness I've sensed from you". Twilight lowered her head and shut her eyes tightly, as Pinkamena continued "So tell us, smarty. How did you plan on getting rid of me?"

Pinkamena then turned away from Twilight and chuckled malevolently to herself, "Are you still there Pinkie Pie? … Yes… I'm here. … Great! It's nice to have your support". Pinkamena then staggered in front of Twilight and informed "You listening? You'll never get rid of me, you monster. I'm here to stay!"

Pinkie Pie then emerged and lectured "I spent all this time defending my friends from harm. And through it all, you've been hiding how truly selfish and deceitful you really were!" Twilight sobbed guiltily, as these heinous crimes were indeed her own doing and decision, and Pinkamena grinned from this advantageous alliance with her original personality.

Pinkie Pie tensed in frustration and swung around to face away from the unicorn, muttering "I don't think she even wanted to help me at all. She must've just wanted to study me… LIKE A WILD ANIMAL!"

Pinkamena then advised "Pinkie Pie, just keep calm. … Why does everything bad have to happen to me?! … You've been through a lot, I know. You have such awful nightmares about me, Rainbow Dash turns into your dad, and now-".

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs, "NOO! DON'T SAY THAT!" Twilight quickly opened her eyes and stepped backwards, before questioning "Rainbow Dash did what?"

"NO! DON'T LISTEN TO ME! FORGET WHAT I SAID!" Pinkie Pie wailed hysterically, though it was already too late, and Twilight already had heard enough. "And _that's_ one more note for her biography" Pinkamena sneered sarcastically, in the hopes of furthering her influence upon Pinkie Pie's emotions.

"You should sleep now, cherub" Pinkamena advised, "I can take care of everything from here… And you've earned yourself a proper rest". Pinkie Pie whispered within Pinkamena's mind "Yeah… I think I should… So much has happened…" before falling silent. Pinkamena sighed in satisfaction and chuckled to herself.

She then slowly turned her head to and stared menacingly at Twilight and asked rhetorically "Now… What shall we do with _you_?", her unmistakable smile returning as she plotted her following actions. Twilight truly had no salvation for the oncoming assault, especially since both of Pinkie Pie's personalities were now against her.

The unicorn's eyes shut tightly as Pinkamena slowly staggered in her direction, expecting to feel a sudden traumatic force against her body. But the hoofsteps suddenly altered their course as Pinkamena stepped passed her and towards the nearby section of the wall.

Confused by this, as well as curious of the sadistic personality's true intentions, Twilight's nervously asked "What… are you doing? I thought you were gonna… attack me", before realizing the potential reaction from this statement and groaning to herself angrily. Suddenly, she was pushed from behind and fell forward into the middle of the room, bracing for the impact and landing with a _'Thud!'_.

But while regaining her composure, a faint creaking sound caught her attention as it emanated from behind her. "Oh, I don't have to…" Pinkamena explained before chuckling softly, "That 600 pound bookshelf behind you will do most of it for me".

Before she had the chance to process this information, something fell from above Twilight and landed on top of her head before falling in front of her. Dazed from the trauma, she looked down at the book, all while several more books fell around her.

Finally, Twilight found herself practically flattened by the bookshelf, rendering the unicorn trapped beneath its weight. Were she not already dazed and incomprehensive of her surroundings, she would have experience the intense pain her body was in from the impact. Pinkamena stepped before the pinned unicorn, the latter looking up to meet her sinister glare.

"And that's only the beginning".

* * *

Outside the library, Rainbow Dash and spike finally landed and were set to enter, the pair of them practically quaking with fear. Applejack approached them from the yonder street, stopping before them hand panting in exhaustion. Rainbow Dash carefully pushed the door open, whispering "Just keep quiet and we'll be okay".

The others nodded in confirmation and fallowed the pegasus inside. Immediately, they heard sounds emitting from the second floor, and the pair made their way up the stairs. They stopped behind Twilight's bedroom door, the source of the noises, and both nodded to eachother as they entered.

The entire bedroom was in shambles, papers and books scattered around and a bookcase toppled over. "H… Help…" echoed faintly in the room as the collapsed bookshelf shifted slightly. Recognizing the voice, Rainbow Dash ran to the bookshelf in a panic and struggled to lift it, finding a motionless Twilight laying underneath.

"Twilight?! Are ya okay?!" Applejack screamed in horror, before pulling Twilight free and gently turning the unicorn onto her back. Twilight grunted in pain as she attempted to sit up, which proved easier said than done due to her injuries. Rainbow Dash dropped the bookshelf to help Applejack in aiding Twilight, and asked "Twilight, what happened?!"

"Fancy _you_ all being here".

Rainbow Dash and Applejack immediately looked upwards, finding a pair of soulless eyes and a twisted grin. However, instead of backing away in terror, Rainbow Dash stood above Twilight and shouted "Pinkie Pie! How could you do this to her?!" Pinkamena rolled her eyes and tossed a book down to the trio, answering "Read this, and it will all make sense".

Cautiously, Applejack examined the book and read the opened chapter, before turning to Twilight and asking "Twilight! Why didn't ya tell us ya were doing this?" Pinkamena leaned down and answered "Because then you would have known that she only wanted to study us… nothing else".

Suddenly, Pinkamena jumped down from her perch and wandered towards the nearby desk, exclaiming "Actually… I'm glad that you all came here". Pinkie Pie looked over the desk and smiled, adding "You've already saved me a lot of work".

Unbeknownst to the trio, Pinkamena carefully reached for a fire poker that lay amidst the mess of papers, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack automatically readied themselves for a confrontation. Spike quietly entered the room and ran to the stricken Twilight, asking "Twilight, did Pinkie Pie's imaginary friend do this?!" Pinkamena's eyes widened as she turned to face the dragon, fire poker in hoof.

"Don't call me that… ever again!"

As she said this, Pinkamena suddenly felt an intense pain in her temple, resulting in her dropping the fire poker and groaning in discomfort. From this action, Rainbow Dash hatched a plan, and she rocketed into the air and whistled for Pinkamena's attention.

"Pinkamena, just face the facts" she shouted from the air, "You're just an imaginary character, and that's all you _ever_ were meant to be!" "SHUT UP! STOP CALLING ME IMAGINARY!" Pinkamena howled at the top of her lungs.

Pinkamena was beginning to run out of energy, and she knew it well. She huffed breathlessly "Ugh… I'm real…" as she fell to her knees to catch her breath, wallowing in the defeat of her own making. She shut her eyes as her body slowly numbed; until finally, everything went black.

As her friends ran to their comatose companion, Twilight arose from the floor and stepped towards the book, glumly contemplating the chaos she had caused. "Well, hopefully Pinkie Pie would prefer to talk to one of _us_ when she wakes up" Rainbow Dash sneered, glaring at Twilight angrily.

The unicorn rolled her eyes and bent down to retrieve her book, but Rainbow Dash suddenly stepped on it before picking it up herself. Twilight stood up and watched as the peeved pegasus made her way towards the fireplace, before tossing the book inside. As the pages disintegrated, Twilight screamed "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! ALL OF MY STUDY WAS IN THERE".

Rainbow Dash turned to face her and retorted "And what had it brought us, Twilight?! Pinkamena came back with a vengeance and flattened you underneath a bookcase". "I was trying to find a way to remove Pinkie Pie's split personality. And now everything I had that could've helped us is now gone!"

Rainbow Dash staggered angrily in the room before yelling "We all know you weren't going to help her, Twilight! You we're documenting her because she was 'fascinating'!" while applying emphasis on the final term "At least _I_ had the-".

"DON'T YOU DARE JUSTIFY YOURSELF!" Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs, before panting from the resulting exhaustion and exclaiming "I you didn't scare her on April Fool's Day because it seemed 'funny', _none_ of this would've happened!"

"I'm… s… sorry".

As the two continued to argue, they were interrupted by a soft, barely audible whisper. They both turned to their unconscious friend, who had finally stirred into consciousness and feebly pulled herself from the carpet floor. She leaned forward with Applejack's assistance into a sitting position, "None of this is any of _your_ faults" she half-consciously muttered.

"Pinkie Pie!?" they shouted before rushing over to help. "Don't… worry about me. I'll be fine" Pinkie Pie assured, though this reassurance proved unsuccessful. "Just relax, Pinkie Pie. You're _not_ fine" interrupted Applejack. The trio then brought her out of the bedroom and downstairs into the living room, after Twilight offered that Pinkie Pie could stay and sleep for the night.

As the other two left the room to join them, Pinkie Pie looked back at Twilight and glumly croaked "Hey, Twilight. I'm so sorry for what she did to you". "No, don't be…. I deserved it" Twilight mumbled as she returned to her bedroom, resulting in Pinkie Pie groaning in displeasure of her friend's guilt-stricken remark.

With the conversation dying away, Pinkie Pie then laid herself on the sofa and succumbed to her body's limitations, though thankfully in a more voluntary fashion. As Pinkie Pie fell into a peaceful slumber, Twilight approached Rainbow Dash and asked "Hey Rainbow Dash… can I ask something?"

Still retaining her anger towards Twilight, Rainbow Dash huffed and asked "What is it?" Twilight lower her voice to not be hear by Pinkie Pie, explaining "Pinkamena told me that Pinkie Pie had another hallucination and saw you as her dad… when did _that_ happen?" Rainbow Dash replied

"Right after the café. You'd know that if you-" before pausing, "Wait… her dad?" Twilight nodded assuredly, taking Rainbow Dash by surprise as she turned to face the sleeping pony.

"She told me she saw… a monster".

 **The End?**


	7. Midnight Threat Part 1

**MLP: Midnight Threat. Part 1**

The cold night air had the whole of Ponyville at its mercy, freezing every warm substance into a withering, cold shell of its former status. The citizens were no exception, as all steadily became desperate for a form of protection from this horrific weather.

One such estate for example, the local library, contained four ponies who all slept in the main room, each struggling to survive this ill-humored climate though any means available. Among the inhabitants of this barely inhabitable environment of Twilight Sparkle's abode was Twilight Sparkle herself and her friends Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who sought refuge amidst the furniture.

Pinkie Pie had spent a majority of the night in a fitful struggle, squirming pitifully in her sofa bed and tugging on her quilt. However, though it had a hand in this behavior, the current weather was not directly responsible for this behavior.

Pinkie Pie was currently suffering from another nightmare, nightmares becoming ever more abundant during her recent nights of sleep, and each featuring the sinister anomaly responsible for her actions the day prior to tonight. Grunts and shrieks occasionally spilled forth through her gritted teeth, despite her obliviousness of doing so.

From across the main room, a blue pegasus squirmed underneath her bed covers from the commotion from across the room. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and leaned up from her temporary sleeping quarters, yawning as she stretched her arms. She looked across the room and noticed her troubled friend, tossing and turning in torment from her horrific dream.

She stepped off of the sofa and quietly approached Pinkie Pie, deciding how to approach this situation. Just then, she heard the sound of hoofsteps from behind her and turned to face the source, finding Applejack stepping off of her own temporary bed.

"Wha… What's that sound?" Applejack whispered nervously from across the room. "It's Pinkie Pie. I think she's having a bad dream" Rainbow Dash answered in an equally nervous whisper. Applejack silently crept towards the pair, all the while listening to her friend's unintelligible muttering and steadily growing more concerned for both Pinkie Pie's wellbeing and her own pledge for rest.

"Wake her up. It'll be fine" Applejack suggested. "Grrgh… ack… no… hmmph… no…" faintly echoed around the room, Pinkie Pie's distressed grunts steadily growing louder. "What? No way! How will she react?" Rainbow Dash questioned in genuine fear.

"Gergh… ilk... Eh Hehehehehehahahahahahahahaha…".

The consultants were both diverted from their conversation by their topic, who suddenly began giggling uncontrollably as she tossed and turned in her fitful slumber. At first, they chose not to question it, but became more and more concerned by it as it continued. Pinkie Pie kept laughing inn her sleep and only so often would draw breath.

Soon, however, Pinkie Pie's delighted snicker began to decrease in its pitch, eventually becoming a more sinister and malevolent chuckle. Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately recognised the voice, and the pair of them found themselves to be reluctant to wake her up.

Suddenly, without any warning, Pinkie Pie's mischievous laughter erupted with a flow of psychotic cackling, taking the pair of witnesses by surprise. Pinkie Pie flipped to her side and fell from the couch onto the carpeted floor, though this hadn't awoken her nor ceased her laughter.

Applejack noticed that Pinkie Pie's face was turning a light shade of blue from her exhaustion, and announced "Okay… I'm waking her up now". Immediately, Applejack leaned down and held Pinkie Pie by her shoulders, screaming "Pinkie Pie! WAKE UP! LOOK AT US!" as he shook her back and forth.

"PAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- Hehahaha… heh… ugh… wh-what?"

Pinkie Pie immediately felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, as she panted heavily from her dry throat. She opened her eyes and attempted to focus on whomever disturbed her, but was unable to focus on them without straining her eyes. Her hearing, in the meantime, was capable of understanding the voice she hear, recognizing it to be Applejack and wheezing "Tired… can't move…".

"Rainbow Dash, get her some water! Quick!" Applejack instructed, the pegasus immediately disappearing into the next room and fetching a pitcher. The moment she returned with Pinkie Pie's salvation, a light in Twilight's bedroom loomed brightly and a shadow emerged along the staircase.

Twilight made her way downstairs and shouted "What is going on down here? What's happened?" before happening upon a terrifying sight. Pinkie Pie chugged down a majority of the pitcher before exhaling deeply, "Tha…. thanks" she muttered between desperate gasps for air.

"What happened to her?!" Twilight asked in surprise, running to Pinkie Pie's side as Applejack held her. Pinkie Pie then pushed free of Applejack's grasp and attempted to stand on her own, only to stumble back into the southerner's embrace. "Good question… What did happen to me?" Pinkie Pie questioned, swooning less than she had upon awakening.

Each of her observers looked at eachother in unison before Rainbow Dash answered "Well, you fell out of bed". The pegasus then held Pinkie Pie and help her back onto the sofa, before continuing "That must've been a pretty rough dream you were having".

Pinkie Pie simply tilted her head in confusion without responding, understandably confused due to her obliviousness to her previous actions. Applejack then added "Yeah, gal. Ya were tossin' and flailin' like some kinda mudfish. Then ya started laughin' up a storm while ya were still asleep. It was really bizarre".

"I was laughing? How in the heck did I do that?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously. "No idea, but it's done now… let's just get back to sleep" Rainbow Dash recommended, hoping to end this conversation before it got any worse. Without another word, the two nodded in agreement and each returned to their own beds.

But now, the only one who couldn't sleep was Rainbow Dash, who was growing increasingly worried of what this peculiar occurrence could mean. Pinkie Pie obviously had a dream about Pinkamena, there was no doubt about this fact; and what could entail from this is no less than unspeakable.

* * *

Later that following morning, Pinkie Pie had fully recovered from her ordeal. The same could not be said though for Twilight, who now had to find a way to reconnect the chandelier sturdily to the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was sitting on the sofa again, her mind haunted by not only her nightmare, but also by the events of the previous day. Her nightmares had been steadily getting worse throughout the months, and this wasn't the first time she has reacted in this fashion, as she had awoken in a panic from them many times before.

While she considered these occurrences, Spike came to the living room and sat on the opposite sofa, staring at Pinkie Pie in a suspicious fashion all the while. Applejack was busy eating her breakfast when she noticed this and asked "Hey Spike, what's the matter?"

Spike trembled nervously and pointed at Pinkie Pie, answering " _She_ came into my room last night".

Applejack was puzzled by this accusation as much as Pinkie Pie was, who replied "That can't be. I was out here sleeping the whole time". Spike shook his head in denial, "You were sitting at the end of my bed, just… staring at me".

"What?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in confusion, and Spike continued "Yeah, and you were smiling too… it was really creepy". The four pairs of eyes gazed towards Pinkie Pie, who sat in disbelief.

"Spike, are you sure? This is very important!" Twilight questioned, to which Spike answered " _Positive_ it was her. She had a really freaky smile. It was horrifying! I thought she was gonna jump at me or something".

Pinkie Pie was horrified by this discovery, and inevitably assumed that the worst of herself was to blame. Unfortunately, the others had these assumptions as well, as they traded worried glances at one another.

Pinkie Pie simply sighed and resigned herself to the possibilities, grunting "I guess it wasn't as over as we thought it was". She hung her head in defeat and growled furiously towards her own lack of self-control.

"Hey Pinkie Pie! Gals! None of ya know for sure that it was _her_ , do ya?" Applejack objected, before Pinkie Pie interrupted and said "Applejack, it's alright. It _had_ to be me… or Pinkamena". Even the simple act of saying the name spread a cold, piercing chill throughout the house, as everypony became silent from the very mention of the name.

"Sorry, Pinkie Pie. There's only one way to find out".

* * *

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie found herself rising into the air, losing all contact with the ground and floating helplessly. Some form of charm had been casted upon her, as discovered by Twilight's horn glowing in a violet hue. Twilight then, much to Pinkie Pie's confusion and eventual protest, carried her up the staircase to the second floor before she stopped at a particular door.

"Twilight!? What are you doing!?" Pinkie Pie babbled in a panic as she was carried against her will through the library. Twilight opened the door and stepped inside the bathroom, and soon released Pinkie Pie and left her standing in the center of the room.

"Twili…" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, before pausing to observe the unicorn whilst she swiftly set about shutting the windows. "No… not enough" she thought to herself before rushing out of the bathroom for a quick moment, before swiftly returning with multiple wooden planks and rapidly boarding the windows up.

"Twilight, what is this all about!?" Pinkie Pie asked her superstitious colleague, the latter halting in her actions to turn and face her colleague. "I'm testing you" she responded quickly before the last plank was positioned and the last nails were hammered.

Twilight then sighed with guilt and instructed "You need to stay in this room for tonight, Pinkie Pie. We'll let you out tomorrow morning. If you're still in here, then we'll know it wasn't Pinkamena. But if you're gone, th-".

Rainbow Dash took this particular opportunity to step inside the bathroom and interrupt Twilight's questionable strategy, questioning it in a most sophisticated manner. "Twilight, have you lost your mind?!" Rainbow Dash questioned angrily. "We have to be sure, Rainbow Dash! It's for our own safety!" Twilight replied in a fit of irrationality.

"And what about hers, eh? Do ya expect her to just sit in here by herself for both a whole day and a whole night?!" Applejack screamed furiously. And then, quite unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie interrupted "NONONO! It's okay…" before settling back into the center of the tiled floor.

"Twilight's right. We have to make sure I'm not gonna… lose… control again…" Pinkie Pie whimpered as she lost herself to her depression once again. As she sobbed pitifully to herself, Twilight assured "Pinkie Pie, I'm so sorry. I _really_ don't wanna do this to you".

"Just shut the door and lock it… before this gets any worse for me" Pinkie Pie demanded, hesitant to get the whole ordeal over and done with. Left without any alternatives, the trio reluctantly obliged this command and shut the door, officially transforming the bathroom into a temporary prison cell.

* * *

Twilight walked ahead of the group as they left, as if to escape the piercing glances from her followers. "Twilight, stop!" Applejack commanded, though Twilight ignored this and continued to detach herself from the trio. But such desired were tarnished when Rainbow Dash soared in front of her and held her by her shoulders, hissing "Stop!"

"Trust me! She'll be alright!" Twilight exclaimed plainly, before pushing Rainbow Dash away. "I thought ya said ya'd stop treatin' her like an experiment; and _now_ look where she is!" Applejack retorted. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but had no rebuttal for this fact, forcing her to concede defeat and sigh deflatedly.

Rainbow Dash shook her head and stepped past Twilight and staggered grudgingly down the staircase, grumbling unintelligibly all the while. Applejack soon followed suit, before stopping to face the unicorn.

"I just hope ya know what ya're doin'!"

* * *

Pinkie Pie barely moved a single muscle for the following hours, sitting perfectly still in the center of the room without any intent to alter her position. The hours continued to pass, and still, any alteration of the room, including Pinkie Pie's statuesque stance, had yet to occur.

Eventually, the blackness of night peeked through the pencil thin gaps of the boarded windows, the glittering stars reflecting across the tiled floor. Pinkie Pie soon felt the wrath of fatigue take its toll on her body, as she soon felt her body numbing from a lack of function. She gently slid against the floor and laid on her side before shutting her eyes, knowing that now was the moment of truth.

Time to put Twilight's theory to the test.

* * *

The next morning, Twilight was not only eager to check Pinkie Pie's current status, but determined; as she immediately leapt out of bed upon awakening and clumsily rushed down to the bathroom door. Before unlocking it, however, she leaned against the door and listened for any audible evidence of inhabitance.

Hearing nothing but silence, Twilight flung the door open in a panic, and what she found inside as truly astonishing. Pinkie Pie was still asleep, having never moved from the middle of the room. She was curled up in the fetal position, possibly due to her lack of a bed to sleep in, to which Twilight now felt a pang of guilt for never considering to offer one.

This outcome brought a great deal of relief to her over Pinkie Pie's mental health, but conjured a new fear for Pinkie Pie's physical health. From the loud creak of the door reverberating throughout the bathroom, Pinkie Pie soon stirred from her slumber and lifted herself off of the cold tile floor.

"Did… it work?" she muttered sleepily to herself. Before regaining her senses in time, "IT WORKED!" echoed throughout the house from her former captor. Twilight shouted "We've done it, Pinkie Pie! You're still here!" Pinkie Pie simply endured the onslaught of sound as she covered her ears. "Oh… uh, sorry about that, Pinkie Pie. But still, this is really good news" Twilight beamed proudly.

However, as she had complimented herself and Pinkie Pie for this result, Spike suddenly entered the bathroom and objected "Well… yeah, Twilight… This is good and all… but there's still one question we haven't solved yet". All attention was fixed upon him as he questioned "If _Pinkie Pie_ wasn't in my room, then who _was_?!"

Twilight quivered in surprise, as she had completely disregarded this mystery to make way for her 'test'. But then, Pinkie Pie suddenly grunted in pain as her stomach churned loudly, audible enough to be heard from within this confined space. "Hey Pinkie Pie, are you okay?" Spike asked curiously. "Ugh… that hurt…" she groaned as her gut continued to rebel against her.

By this time, Applejack had entered the room as she Pinkie Pie held her hoof against her stomach. "Ya hungry, Pinkie Pie? We've got pancakes and syrup out in the-" Twilight offered, before Pinkie Pie interrupted "Ack! No way! I'm not hungry… Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick".

"Pinkie Pie, I'll get ya home!" Applejack offered before leading her out of the bathroom and through the front door. Twilight was the last occupant left in the bathroom, who continued to search for an explanation for these peculiar occurrences.

Who was in Spike's Bedroom?

"Hang on a minute!" Twilight grimaced as she came to a realization, "Maybe there _wasn't_ somepony in Spike's room". Twilight tensed as she shouted "Darn it, Spike! It probably could've been a dream the whole time!"

Twilight's face reddened with fury and she began losing her temper. "And I just locked my friend up in a bathroom by herself for a whole day! BECAUSE OF _YOU_ , YOU IDIOT!" Twilight screamed wildly. As her frustration reached its peak, she turned to face the boarded windows, before running to them and heaving on one of the planks in a mindless rage.

Surprisingly, the plank came out of the wall without any resistance, sending Twilight tumbling backwards and ramming the back of her head against the bathroom sink, before collapsing to the floor without restraint. As she sat in a daze, she stared unfocusedly at the window. She observed as the rest of the boards freely fell from the wall, revealing a wide open gap that formerly housed an intact sheet of glass.

The boards had apparently been removed from the wall previously and hastily placed back into their previous positions, and the window was left wide open from the other side. After a few attempts to remedy herself of her injury, unconsciousness eventually claimed Twilight as she passed out on the bathroom tiling.

* * *

Meanwhile, Applejack waited outside Pinkie Pie's house, while Pinkie Pie herself sat next to her, remaining sickly from this morning. Rainbow Dash soon found the duo and hurried towards them in a panic, "Pinkie Pie! Are you alright!?"

"Ugghhh… I don't feel good…" she croaked in response. "She was still in the bathroom this mornin'" Applejack informed the pegasus. "Really? She never left?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. "No. Why?" Applejack asked out of curiosity, while Pinkie Pie tried her best to listen to the conversation while tending to her nausea. "Um, well…" Rainbow Dash began.

"The café was broken into last night".

 **To be continued…**


	8. Midnight Threat Part 2

**MLP: Midnight Threat. Part 2**

"I already told ya! It couldn't have been her!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash argued outside of Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash explained that the café had just been robbed, although nothing was discovered to be missing or misplaced. "Who else could it have been? She's already snuck in there before; who's to say she couldn't do it again!" Rainbow Dash accused.

While the prosecution and the defendant bickered behind closed doors, the accused remained inside the house. Pinkie Pie was still nauseous from an unknown sickness the welled within her stomach, but had recovered over the time that had passed.

Considering the pain that this mysterious sickness had conjured, it was miraculous that she had neither vomited nor collapsed. "Twilight has just proven that it _wasn't_ her! Why are ya going off yar head about it?" Applejack shouted.

"UGH… JUST STOP IT!" came a voice from inside, clearly belonging to the subject matter herself. Sure enough, the bedroom window opened as she hung her head out, continuing "I hate hearing you all fight over things like this. It's just gonna cause problems for _everypony_ ".

Rainbow Dash was the first to lower her defenses, groaning in resignation and replying "Sorry, Pinkie Pie. I… I just don't want anything bad to happen. That's all". "Well we know for sure it wasn't m… Pinkamena, okay?" Pinkie Pie confirmed, to which her two consultants thankfully agreed.

Pinkie Pie sighed and remained silent for a moment, before she suddenly had an idea and smiled. "Say! Why don't we go there and get something for breakfast?!" she asked, "We can get something to eat, and we can also find out what happened there".

Rainbow Dash considered this and replied "Well, they were still open to the public when I found out, so that's a good idea". Pinkie Pie made her way downstairs and joined her friends outside her front door, and the trio made their way through town.

* * *

Later, while at the café, Pinkie Pie had almost completely recovered from her nausea, and had begun acting in her traditional fashion. "Uh, it's so good to eat properly again, isn't it?" Pinkie Pie boasted, patting her stomach as she slouched comfortably in her seat. "Heh… some things never change, do they?" Applejack sighed as she shook her head with poorly hidden glee.

Pinkie Pie continued to slouch lazily and she contently browsed the delectable merchandise in the glass casing beneath the counter, one of which caught her attention instantly. On the third row at the left end was a collection of cupcakes, each its own color and flavor. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened as she stared, mesmerized by the pastries.

Unbeknownst to her, the corners of her mouth had begun twitching frantically, forming into a devious smile. A strange craving for these petite pastries had soon urged her to devour every last one of them. All she could think about now was chowing down on them. The sweetness they must contain! She desperately wanted them! She must have them, and she must have them all now!

"Hey Pinkie Pie, what are you doing!?" asked a concerned Rainbow Dash. "Mom's cupcakes were _so good_ …" Pinkie Pie smirked greedily as she continued to stare at the glass-confined treats. "Hey, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack exclaimed, snapping Pinkie Pie from her hypnotized state and returning her to reality.

"Huh, what was that?" Pinkie Pie half-wittedly asked. Rainbow Dash slapped her forehead and sighed "Are you _really_ still hungry after all you just ate?! This place will go out of business at this rate".

Pinkie Pie tilted her head confusedly and replied "Huh? No, I was just thinking about something. Why?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother with concern in their eyes, before Applejack replied "Well, um… you're drooling". "What! Blegh!" Pinkie Pie quickly and nervously wiped the saliva from her cheek and replied "Ugh! Why was I doing that!?"

* * *

As the night progressed from the café to the streets, Pinkie continued to ponder her bizarre actions; but this time, she already knew the cause of it. She glumly trudged behind her friends as they intended to part ways, not paying attention to where she's heading and accidentally slipping on the pavement.

"Whoa, uh…" she yelped before regaining her posture, but not without also gaining her companions' attention. "Huh? Oh… Well, see ya later Pinkie Pie" Applejack cried out, while Rainbow Dash simply nodded. "Uh… Oh! See you tomorrow!" Pinkie Pie called out, before the group parted ways.

Later, within Pinkie Pie's home, the excitable extrovert slept soundly in her bed. She had succumbed to a relatively peaceful slumber for three hours prior to the present, and the time was currently 10:30 pm.

For the first time in multiple weeks, neither a horrific nightmare nor an interruption from a friend had come to disturb her sleep, leaving her to finally sleep peacefully without fault. However, as the clock chimed 11:00, Pinkie's Pies eyes shot open instantly as she slowly arose from her bed, a wry grin planted across her cheeks.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a house that lay not too far away, an unconscious Twilight had finally begun to awaken from her impairing injury, struggling to regain her senses. She leant against the wall and battled to gain balance on her knees, but to no avail, as a numbness had engulfed her limbs that resulted in Twilight collapsing against the tile floor.

The back of her neck strained from its previous trauma, pulsing and throbbing painfully against this action. Twilight found herself powerless, and was prepared to surrender to unconsciousness once again.

"AAAHHHH! TWILIGHT! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Twilight was suddenly lifted off of the ground by an unknown figure, and paid no attention to the voice that spoke, as she was too preoccupied with a futile ploy to regain control of her nerves system.

"Are you okay!? Speak to me!" screamed the unknown savior, who then carried her into the lounge room and laid her on the sofa. "I… can't feel… anything" Twilight continued with miraculous consistency in her speech, despite her physical status.

"Quick! We need to get to the hospital!" called a voice from what Twilight presumed was the doorway. "No… find…Pinkame…" Twilight wheezed lifelessly before succumbing finally to her inevitable fate. "NO! THAT CAN'T BE! TWILIGHT WAKE UP!" Rainbow Dash shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Unfortunately, Twilight lay as stiff as a post, without sign of movement nor sound. "Arrgh! How did she do it!? How did she escape!?" Rainbow Dash screamed hysterically. "Who cares?! We should be worryin' about where she is _now_!" Applejack replied, whilst staring through the wide open window for a clear vision of Pinkamena's escape strategy.

"Okay! You take Twilight to the hospital! I'll go find Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash commanded, before soaring off without a second thought. Before Applejack had the chance to object "But _you're_ faster! _You_ take Twilight", the blue pegasus had already disappeared into the night sky.

* * *

After a short and swift flight across Ponyville, Rainbow Dash landed outside Sugarcube Corner. She examined the front door and approached it, before pausing as she reached for the doorknob. She rested against the wood, unable to formulate a plan of how to manage this potentially dangerous situation.

She hadn't thought on what she'd do beyond finding the violent personality, but felt she had no option but to improvise as she went along. With her mind made up, she carefully turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, before cautiously stepping inside the dark hall.

Rainbow Dash crept slowly through the main room of Pinkie Pie's home, her eyes darting left and right for any sign of an inhabitant. She then stopped in the middle and considered which room to check first, were Pinkamena in the building at all.

"Is anybody here?!" she called out into the room, as prepared as she ever could be to confront Pinkamena. Unfortunately, despite her expectations, there was no response of any kind. As she struggled to decide whether to be disappointed or delighted by this conclusion, Rainbow Dash turned to the front door and prepared to take her leave.

"Well, well… It's _you_ again".

From out of the darkness of the night, staggering ungraciously through the front door, shone a pair of intensely gaped eyes and a large toothy smile. Rainbow Dash was paralysed to the spot from the mere sight, the eyes glaring daggers towards her as they grew closer towards her.

Finally, a soft feminine voice stated "I should have known that one of you would come to find me here". The light reflected against the surface of the arrival's skin, exposing her in all her glory.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural, healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

"I hope you're not thinking of running away, because it's far too late for that now" Pinkamena stated as Rainbow Dash stood her ground, no longer as intimidated by the psychopath's presence, "But then again, given our history, running away wouldn't do you much good".

Pinkamena began to circle around the pegasus, though Rainbow Dash would follow her every movement and maintain direct eye contact. "Does Pinkie Pie know that you've been doing this?" Rainbow Dash inquired skeptically, actually taking Pinkamena off guard as she replied "No… But that means you can't poison her against me".

" _Poison_ her?!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, "Are you really so twisted into thinking that me and everypony else in Equestria is out to get her?!" Pinkamena sneered and rebutted "You've yet to prove me wrong! _You_ and that unicorn have already been exposed for who you _really_ are!"

The deluded pony quaked with rage as she continued "All this torment that you've all put her through! To think of where she would be without me! I can never imagine her being left alone to suffer at your hooves!" Rainbow Dash remained defiant, but found an inkling of truth in her consultant's words.

Pinkamena's actions up until this moment had been justified by their actions, and Pinkamena had every reason to believe they were responsible for her misery. "She needs me to help her… and that's exactly what I've done" Pinkamena concluded, "After all, our childhood on the rock farm has taught us to enjoy even the simplest of pleasures".

Rainbow Dash's guilt for her involvement in Pinkie Pie's dilemma had begun to resurface, and she sat on the floor with her head hung in despair. Pinkamena stood above her and stated "No matter what you and your cohorts plan next, you're never gonna hurt my cherub while I'm here" as she turned away from the pegasus.

"The only thing she needs saving from is _you_ ".

Pinkamena stopped in her tracks for a moment to consider her comment, before eventually continuing towards the nearby dining table. She reached for a candlestick that rested in the center of the table held it I her hoof, before swiping it back and forth like a blunt weapon.

Rainbow Dash stood up on all four hooves and watched Pinkamena curiously from behind, unable to see this act from the intense darkness that surrounded the pony. Pinkamena sensed Rainbow Dash approaching her without the need to face her, before suddenly spinning around and taking the pegasus by surprise.

' _WHACK!'_

* * *

"Grrgh… ugh…wh… wh…where..."

Minutes soon became hours until Rainbow Dash had finally recovered from her temporarily comatose state. Rainbow Dash attempted to the best of her ability to move, though such a feat was hindered by a foreign force of restriction.

Rainbow Dash lifted her head weakly and opened her eyes, finding herself inside of a small room consisting of a bed, a desk and a few bookshelves. She then stared down to find her current position, which was concluded to be a large cushion, while remaining immobile from the ensnaring rope. Her vision scanned throughout the surrounding environment, even though it remained unfamiliar as of yet.

"Oh hey! You're awake!" a distant voice had begun ringing in her ears, which soon grew accustom to the surrounding noise; or lack thereof. "Hehehehe! Wait there, and I'll see you in a second!" the singsong voice called from a distant room. Rainbow Dash was forced to wait for another five minutes before hearing a loud, crackling sound from a room downstairs, to which the pegasus realized where she was.

This was still Sugarcube Corner, but she now resided in Pinkie Pie's bedroom and Pinkamena was currently in the kitchen. "No wait! Here I am!" Pinkamena suddenly burst through the bedroom door with a loud _'Slam!'_ and startled the life out of her captive.

"Ack! Pinkamena! What's going on?! What are you up to now?!" Rainbow demanded an explanation. Pinkamena giggled to herself and replied "I need you for something I'm making. I'll explain everything", before suddenly stepping into the darkness of the room and shutting the door behind her.

"Remember that favour I asked of you a while back?" Pinkamena inquired, "You're finally going to be of use to both me and my cherub for something… special". An icy cold chill engulfed Rainbow Dash's body from these words, resuming a fearful role as a witness to oncoming diabolical actions.

"You see… I'm making a special recipe!" Pinkamena began, having suddenly appeared beside Rainbow Dash and catching her by surprise. "It's an old… Hmhmhmph… 'Family Recipe' for…" Pinkamena began, leaning her head beside Rainbow's left ear, "Cupcakes".

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion, pondering why Pinkamena, one of the most spiteful and ruthless entities she had ever encountered, would be bothered with a hobby such as this. "You see, Pinkie Pie and I came up with this recipe when she was a filly".

Pinkamena then hugged herself in satisfaction before sighing "Ahhh… I can still remember how delicious they tasted" before licking her lips greedily.

Rainbow Dash simply stared in confusion and yelled "Cupcakes? Is that what this is all about? Then what do you need _me_ for?!" Pinkamena stopped dead in her tracks, before turning to face her prisoner with an insane grin. "Well… the thing about these cupcakes is that-".

' _Ding! Ding! Ding!'_

"WHAT! IT CAN'T BE!" Pinkamena screeched in shock, before rushing towards the clock to see the time. "6:00! Oh no! She's gonna… gonna… urk…" she screamed before cringing in discomfort. Suddenly, she shook her head violently, shouting "I took too long! She's coming back! No! …ARRGH!"

Pinkamena began thrashing about furiously, her skin beginning to expel multiple beads of sweat as her muscles began losing their former energy.

Rainbow Dash remained unable to either assist or escape and was forced to watch in awe as her best friend became overwhelmed by her own torment. Clumsily, Pinkamena eventually collapsed without any restraint, remaining motionless against the floor without displaying any signs of movement.

With the potential danger temporarily subsided, Rainbow Dash returned to struggling against her bindings, desperate to find a chance to release herself from her entrapment. Thankfully, and somewhat miraculously, the bonds in her legs had begun to loosen, but not enough the remove them. "HELP! SOMPONY HELP!" she called out for any form of salvation to arrive, "PLEASE! IF ANYPONY CAN HEAR ME! GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

There was nothing but silence to respond, and Rainbow Dash finally gave up on any hopes of rescue as she lay miserably in her wretched predicament. Her best friend had once again collapsed from stress, but her actions for the past three days seem to have put every theory Twilight had written to shame.

Pinkamena had found a way to take control of Pinkie Pie during the night, while Pinkie Pie was thought by everypony, including herself, to be asleep. Was Pinkamena actively finding new ways to take control while Pinkie Pie remained oblivious?

"Hello? Is anypony home?"

Rainbow Dash's heart nearly leapt from her chest as she gasped in surprise. "HELLO?! HELP US!" she called out with delight. Soon, the house echoed with loud hoofsteps, soon to be followed by a loud rattling of a doorknob and a loud _'Slam!'_ of a door. Rainbow Dash turned to the door, to find Applejack and Twilight rushing to their aid.

While Applejack tended to the stricken Pinkie Pie, Twilight ran to Rainbow Dash to untie her bonds. "I'm so glad to see you two!" Rainbow Dash cried out, "She tied me up and dragged me here from the Town Hall". Twilight then explained "I woke up in the hospital as soon as we got there, so we came to find you" whilst untying her friends bindings.

By the time Rainbow Dash was freed from her constrictions, Applejack had already laid their comatose companion in her bed to recuperate from her taxing experience. Applejack sniffed distraughtly "Poor Pinkie Pie. She should never have gone through this…" before stepping away from the bed.

"Did she- erm… Pinkamena say anything?" Twilight asked curiously, to which Rainbow Dash answered "Yeah, actually… It was the strangest thing. She was talking about baking cupcakes and making a _'Family Recipe'_ ". "What? Now _that's_ pretty weird" Twilight replied in confusion, and all eyes turned to gaze upon the still sleeping Pinkie Pie.

"Why would she need _you_ to make this "Family Recipe' of hers?"

 **The End?**


	9. A Guest of Honour? Part 1

**MLP: A Guest of Honor? Part 1**

Deep within the town of Ponyville that lay blanketed under the black night sky, the bright lights of civilization swarmed the streets to conquer the oppressive darkness. One such source of civilization in this settlement was Sugarcube Corner, residence of the cheerful, if often insecure, Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie was often considered by most that knew her, and especially her own friends, to be an incredible source of laughter and joy to be witnessed, as well as incredibly taxing of any diligence previously mustered by those who meet her. For the past two months, however, this was hardly the case, as Pinkie Pie had just spent the previous two months recovering from serious psychological trauma.

Two months had passed since the infamous anomaly Pinkamena had returned to blight Pinkie Pie's reputation, as she was forced against her better judgment to set about spreading fear and terror to all who would find themselves a victim. However, Pinkie had eventually returned to her original demeanor since these incidents occurred, as she had finally returned to the more excitable, positive attitude that she and her friends had cherished.

As of this moment, Pinkie Pie was in the middle of cooking for herself and her guests' dinner, as the clock chimed 8:00 from upstairs. "Yes! Yes! I _know_ what time it is. You don't have to hang off my back!" Pinkie shouted as she stirred through the warm cake mix for her friends to indulge themselves upon.

"How are you all going out there?" she called into the living room, to which a familiar voice replied "Wow! How long does a cake take to make?!" Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow and pondered whether to take offense to this statement, unsure of whether to treat it as an insult or just a genuine question.

Eventually, she decided to shrug it off, as dinner was finally ready to serve. Pinkie whistled to herself as she collect the five different meals for her guests, each staked upon her head as she carefully balanced them. Pinkie Pie made her way out of the kitchen and entered the dining room, soon to be met with a truly bizarre sight.

All of her friends were asleep; each slouching in their seats with their mouths hanging open. Pinkie Pie howled "Hey, everyone WAKE UP! Food's ready!" while shoving Rainbow Dash gently. To her surprise, Rainbow simply slid from the chair and fell to the floor, to which Pinkie realized that her friends were neither breathing nor moving in the slightest.

Her friends weren't asleep at all, and were definitely not going to wake up.

Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs in terror, only to find silence from her voice. She continued to scream to herself, discovering herself to be physically unable to vocalize in any fashion. Pinkie Pie soon fell to the floor in shock as her chest radiated with warmth, feeling her heartbeat become steadily more intense.

"What took you so long?" a voice echoed, "We were nothing but skin and bones before you were finished!" Suddenly, all that could be heard was a loud, menacing cackle that rang in Pinkie Pie's ears.

All of the plates Pinkie Pie carried were carelessly dropped and crashed to the floor as Pinkie Pie swung her head relentlessly. "NO! NO! This is a dream! It has to be a dream! Wake up! WAKE UP! PLEEEASE!" she shouted in a fit of hysteria.

"You can't wake up, cherub… This is not a dream… You're as awake as you've ever been".

* * *

"HUUUAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Pinkie Pie soared up into the air landed comfortably on the mattress of her bed. After the additional shock had subsided, she struggled to sit upright on the mattress as she gasped desperately for breath.

Her hair was drenched in sweat and her heart relentlessly pounded away inside her chest. Her head was aching from stress and her muscles were throbbing in agony, leaving Pinkie Pie in an almost broken state, both physically and emotionally.

"When… will this ever… stop?" she whimpered miserably to herself, wiping her brow with her wrist as her eyes glistened with long-contained sorrow. Pinkie Pie leapt from her bed and rushed through her bedroom door, much to the dismay of her muscles. Pinkie ignored the welling discomfort that spread through her body as she burst through the front door and ran madly into the street.

"Hello? Hegh… Anypony?!" she called helplessly into the empty streets, searching for anypony to interact with to retain her dwindling sanity.

However, as this happened, Pinkie Pie's shoulder had finally had all the strain it could endure and ultimately gave way, sending the rest of her body sprawling across the pavement. As she lay against the concrete path, she wheezed "I n-need help… please… somepony… anypony?"

Fatigue had begun to take its toll as Pinkie Pie slowly felt her body shut down from extensive wear. Reluctantly, but voluntarily, she lost consciousness as the sound of a nearby voice became the only sound she could hear.

"Pinkie Pi…ony get hel…to the hosp…".

* * *

Unbeknownst to the stricken Pinkie Pie, and to her miraculous luck, a pedestrian had been passing by Sugarcube Corner at the time. The pedestrian had heard the screams from within the streets and found the unconscious straggler, and began calling for the assistance of others.

In little time, Pinkie Pie was in the hospital, steadily recuperating from most recent psychological collapse.

However, from this moment, several citizens of Ponyville became aware of something terrible that was happening to the young pony, and were concerned for her health upon awakening. Pinkie Pie remained unconscious for the rest of the night.

A few hours later, word of Pinkie Pie's wellbeing spread quickly amongst the public of Ponyville. Many were concerned for her health and attempted to enter the hospital to visit her, but were prevented by the medical staff and left unable to enter the ward. Naturally, from this bustle of worry within Ponyville, news quickly reached her closest friends, and each were no less than devastated by the news.

Without delay, they each arrived at the hospital and demanded to visit their stricken colleague, Applejack and Fluttershy arriving before the rest. Not soon after, Rarity arrived and joined them and was soon followed by Twilight, the four of them quietly entering the ward and searching for the right bed.

Eventually, an unmistakable magenta mane caught their eyes as they ran to the bedside, Pinkie Pie resting peacefully beneath the covers. "Is she still asleep" Twilight asked, finding her answer as Pinkie slowly opened her eyes and attempted to fixed her gaze on their faces.

"Hey girls…" Pinkie Pie greeted with a warm smile, before frowning and groaning in dissatisfaction, "This is the second time I've had to put up with these awful beds".

Suddenly, the doors flew open as the final visitor arrived, Rainbow Dash stopping before the bed and sighing with relief from Pinkie Pie's wellbeing.

"What happened this time?!" Rainbow questioned, clearly the most devastated of all her friends. "Pinkie collapsed in the street last night" Twilight explained, "somepony in town got her here about five hours ago". "Yeah, and we each got news about it about an hour ago" Applejack stated, "Pinkie Pie's lucky that somepony found her when she needed help".

"No… kidding…"

All eyes peered into a pair of white, glistening eyes as they sleepily gazing upwards from the bed, Pinkie Pie shifting slightly beneath the covers and preparing to sit up. However, Twilight gently pushed her back against the pillow and said "No… Don't move yet". "What made you run out into the streets and pass out?" Rarity inquired.

"Another nightmare…" Pinkie Pie replied exhaustedly, "But this one was… worse… much worse that the others". Her friends listened as she explained the events of the dream, leaving each of them mortified by the specified details. "What could this mean?" Twilight asked herself before turning away to ponder this situation.

"It may not mean _anything_ , Twilight. It's just a bad dream, after all. It can't hurt me" Pinkie Pie reassured as she sat up comfortably from the bed. "Well, I dunno about that. If it can land ya in the hospital…" Applejack reminded her. Pinkie soon pulled herself from the bedsheet covers and stated "Trust me, it's nothing to worry about".

"I'm sorry, but you cannot leave just yet" called a nurse who had entered the room to interrupt this action. "What? Why?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously. "Miss Pie, we have read your files. You have apparently been suffering from multiple forms of nausea and repeated nightmares. I'm afraid you must stay under care for the time being" the nurse explained.

"How did you know I was suffering from nightmares? Twilight, did you tell them?" Pinkie turned to Twilight for the answer. Twilight simply stood flustered and remained without an answer before the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Fluttershy. " _I-I_ did…" the pegasus stuttered nervously, "I thought it would be the right thing to do".

"No, it _was_. But Fluttershy, why didn't you tell us before?" Twilight questioned curiously, degrading Fluttershy's already declining confidence. "Leave her alone, Twilight. She did the right thing, and I'm actually annoyed that _I_ didn't do it before her" Applejack admitted. "Whatever… it doesn't matter, anyhow" Pinkie Pie sighed meekly before jumping back-first against the bed once again.

Rainbow Dash then turned back to face the nurse and asked "Well, is there anything _we_ can do?" The nurse then pondered the possibilities before answering "Well, she may return home. _But_ , she would have to stay there under both house-arrest and constant supervision. Just for safety precautions, after all" the nurse then reassured.

"Well… I dunno" Applejack considered, while her companions remained skeptical of such a choice. "Well, there _is_ a choice at least, which is rare. So we should take advantage of it" Twilight offered to end to this prolonged stalemate. "Very well; in that case, you may take her home" the nurse offered with a somewhat stiff smile, before turning away and swiftly leaving through the door to tend to other patients.

* * *

And with that, Pinkie Pie and her friends made their way from the hospital back to Sugarcube Corner, thankfully savoring the lack of a delay or unforeseen event having occurred. The night had greeted them with the same chill that they felt when they arrived, though they eventually managed to arrive at Pinkie's home.

But as they entered the establishment, Pinkie Pie had begun to succumb to her insurmountable fatigue, resulting in her mindlessly staggering through the living room and collapsing on the couch. Twilight stared down at her and asked "Should we take her upstairs?"

Rainbow Dash pondered for a moment before replying "Hmm… Nah. Just leave her here, I guess. She seems okay" while watching Pinkie Pie snuggle comfortably into the sofa.

"I'll stay and watch over her for the night" Applejack offered generously, clearly confident of her own capability. "What if you fall asleep?" Fluttershy questioned, Applejack turning to her to express her attention.

"Well, it's already..." Applejack paused as she stared towards the clock, "2:30 am, so I should manage". After this agreement was confirmed amongst the group, Applejack remained beside Pinkie Pie as the others followed a single file though the front door and shut it; thus beginning Pinkie's daily 'house-arrest' routine.

* * *

It was the next morning, and the sun shone over the rooftops of Ponyville. In the early hours of this weekend, several ponies had already awoken and began setting about their daily business. However, one such house that hadn't taken advantage of these early hours were the residence of Sugarcube Corner.

Within the living room of this popular pastry store, Pinkie was slumbering comfortably upon the sofa, alongside her southern friend Applejack. Unfortunately, despite what she had claimed the previous night, Applejack had indeed fallen asleep at some point during the short hours she had spent and lay beside Pinkie Pie, embracing her during her slumber.

"Hnnnnmmm…" Pinkie Pie moaned as she stirred from her sleep, her eyes opening before immediately shutting. The sunlight reflecting through the window shone directly into her eyes, forcing her to squint as she leaned up from the sofa. The light was finally no longer in her eyes and she was able to look around the room, and immediately found Applejack laying against her with her arms wrapped around her waist.

Pinkie Pie gulped nervously as she carefully pulled Applejacks arms from their grip against her body, before stepping off from the couch and laying Applejack gently down to continue her sleep. Pinkie sighed as she watch her snooze thinking "Poor thing… I kept everypony up last night, I'm not surprised she fell asleep".

She shrugged indifferently as she beamed a bright smile, before making her way into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the pair of them.

She walked along the outer way of the kitchen and passed the window, before stopping in her tracks and stepping back to peer through the glass panels. Just as she suspected, there was an abnormality from the usual sights, in the form of an unknown pony staring directly back at her.

The black expression of this stranger unnerved her, and she quickly drew the curtain on impulse as she made her way back into the living room. But then, Pinkie Pie found a disturbing surprise, as every window within the living room had several strangers observing her without consideration for her privacy.

Becoming unnerved by this attention, she ran upstairs to escape it until it would eventually disband. She then stopped, unable to comprehend what she saw. Every room she passed by and looked inside, there was an expectant stare from behind the windows within the room.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

There was a scream that bellowed throughout every room in Sugarcube Corner, and the southerner's state of sleep was interrupted as a result. "Ugh… W… Wha…?" she muttered sleepily, her eyes opening slowly as she yawned. Immediately as she began stretching her arms, her eyes shot open as she leapt from her sofa bed in a panic.

"Pinkie Pie! Are ya still here?!" she called into the room, finding no trace of her observant anywhere within the living room. Applejack rushed upstairs to search her bedroom, peeking through a gap in the bedroom door and finally finding Pinkie Pie, though she was backed against the corner of the room.

"Pinkie Pie! Are ya alright?!"Applejack asked as she entered the room. "Applejack?" came a soft, exhausted voice from the corner of the room, where lay Pinkie Pie in a truly degrading state. Pinkie's tearstained eyelids opened as she turned to face the door and asked "Applejack, can you… see them?"

Applejack simply stared in a confused fashion before Pinkie Pie added "I need to know if they're there or not!" Applejack replied "If _what_ are _where_?" with her head tilted curiously. Pinkie shook her head violently before replying "There's strangers in the windows and their spying on me! THEY WON'T GO AWAY!" before catching her breath while clamping her mouth shut.

Applejack, willing to believe this to be the case based on her earlier experience, rushed to the window and pulled the curtains apart, only to find nothing but the sunlight greeting her. "There's nopony there, Pinkie Pie. Are ya sure?" Applejack asked, and Pinkie turned to face the window, before freezing to the spot as she stared as the glass.

Applejack turned back to the window and still found nothing, immediately confirming her suspicions. She jumped down from the bed and held Pinkie Pie by her shoulders, "There's nopony there, Pinkie Pie! I think ya're seein' things again!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had come by Sugarcube Corner to make sure nothing that they hadn't predicted had happened in her absence. As she came to the window of the front door, she soon found that Twilight had arrived before her, possibly intending the same act of precaution, and entered the establishment to greet her respectively.

"What happened while I was gone?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously. Twilight cringed nervously, obviously debating whether to reveal what had happened before eventually, if reluctantly, coming to a conclusion.

"Well… Pinkie Pie had a breakdown this morning, apparently" Twilight explained, her breath rather faint as to not be overheard. "What!? Is she alright!?" Rainbow Dash began to panic, before Twilight steadied her and explained "Nothing happened! She's alright now".

Twilight then proceeded to explain the events that unfolded on their behalf, or at least from what Applejack had told her. Rainbow Dash then heard the sound of sobbing from the living room; and upon peeking carefully into the living room, she was destined to discover Pinkie Pie cowering distraughtly on the couch, "Let's face it. I've got one step left until I completely lose it, don't I?"

"Pinkie Pie, ya're _not_ losin' yar mind! It was just a hallucination, that's all. It can only get better from here" Applejack intervened in this degrading statement. Applejack herself currently sat across from Pinkie Pie and had spent the past hour comforting her from such a horrific experience.

"I'd like to know how" Pinkie sighed before hanging her head in shame of her own insecurity. Twilight then stepped into the room and added "Well, it definitely couldn't get any worse than this, to be sure".

Unfortunately for the protagonists, the writer had other plans, and regrets to say that Pinkie Pie's dilemma had only just begun. And it did so with two musical notes.

' _DING-DONG!'_

 **To be continued…**


	10. A Guest of Honour? Part 2

**MLP: A Guest of Honor? Part 2**

Somepony was knocking on the front door, and everypony in the living room turned to face it. "Who might that be?" Applejack asked, looking between each of her friends for a suggestion. "It's probably Fluttershy… or Rarity, I assume" Twilight replied as she left the living room and approached the front door.

Before she opened it, she gazed through the door's window, finding naught but a completely unknown pony awaiting permission to enter the premises. "Who is it?" Rainbow Dash asked from the living room, Twilight shaking her head and replying "I don't know, I've never seen this pony in my life".

Soon enough, Twilight twisted the doorknob and opened it for their guest, greeting "Hello" politely. The pony nodded her head and stepped inside, neglecting to offer any explanation of her purpose or even a detail of her identity. Rainbow Dash and Applejack entered and examined the pony to identify her, only to be as clueless as the unicorn.

The pony was within their age range and sported glamourous facial features, particularly her turquoise eyes. Her purple mane had a fringe that hung above her eyes and a neat ponytail, which contrasted from her blandly grey coat. She wore a standard jumper with a lowered hoody.

"Forgive us" Twilight began with a curious glance, "I'm afraid we don't know you". The visitor turned to the unicorn and replied "I've been looking for somepony here in Ponyville. Her name is Pinkamena Diane Pie". At first, Twilight and the rest became worried, before Twilight asked "You mean Pinkie Pie?"

The guest simply nodded and answered "I've been told by some of the ponies in town that she lived here. Can you tell me if she's in the house?" Applejack became suspicious and asked "Why? What do ya want her for?" The guest turned to the southerner.

"She's my sister".

All were taken aback by this revelation, as the guest concluded "My name is Maud Pie". Meanwhile, from the living room, Pinkie Pie was as equally surprised by what she heard, and immediately left her state of rest to enter the main room. She then stopped, her eyes transfixed on the guest as the latter did likewise.

"It can't be…" Pinkie thought to herself, unable to comprehend the sight she saw, though she couldn't deny the possibility. She stepped towards Maud, who replied "Pinkamena…" with an equal expression of disbelief. Pinkie Pie was finally stopped before her sister and studied her appearance, before deciding her next plan of action.

Suddenly, Maud found herself trapped in a tight embrace by her sister, who screamed with joy "MAUD! IT'S BEEN SO MANY YEARS SINCE I'VE SEEN YOU!"

Maud, for her part, was surprised by this act and didn't know what to respond, until Pinkie Pie finally released her. "Yes, it has been quite a long time, hasn't it?" Maud replied in a monotone fashion, though Pinkie ignored this. "I… I don't think I've seen you since we were little!" Pinkie Pie beamed with overwhelming excitement, "We'll have so much to talk about! Where've you been?! How have you been?! What brings you here?!"

* * *

For the following hours, Pinkie Pie was helping Maud get comfortable in her home, while also introducing her to her friends and explaining her career.

"Wait… you're a comedian _and_ a shopkeeper here?" Maud inquired, intrigued by how far Pinkie Pie had come since she had seen her last, "I can honestly say… I never expected this from you". Pinkie smiled as she replied "It's great, isn't it?! I love making pastries for ponies in town!" as she and Maud reached her bedroom.

However, Maud never expected Pinkie Pie to ask "So how have you been?"

Maud frowned slightly as she grew silent, "Nothing, really". Pinkie's smile collapsed as Maud continued "I ran away from the rock farm… and tried to find a better life somewhere else". Pinkie Pie was astounded by this, in more ways than one, and Maud finished "But… I ended up just wandering around Equestria without finding _anything_ for myself".

Immediately as she finished her sentence, Pinkie Pie hugged her a second time and stated "You can stay here with _me_! Everypony in Ponyville will like you". Maud remained silent as she considered the offer, and Pinkie simply smiled with joy from this family reunion.

"I can't believe you're warming up to her so easily".

The excitable extrovert's eyes widened from these words as fear surged through her body. Without warning, she jumped off of the bed and quickly informed her relative "Oh whoops, I forgot! I'm working on something and can't have distractions!"

Maud followed her off of the bed and asked "What do you mean?" in confusion, but Pinkie replied "Sorry, Maud. But I need you to leave". "What?" was all Maud could say before she was hastily led outside of Pinkie Pie's bedroom. Without another word, Pinkie shut the door and locked it, leaving Maud to descend the staircase and join her friends on the first floor.

"Why are you back, Pinkamena?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in distress, having recognised the voice in the very instant she heard it. "You act like you've known her all your life" Pinkamena beckoned within her mind, "Did you forget what she said to you on the rock farm?" Pinkie prepared to respond, but found herself at a loss, so Pinkamena found her chance to fill in the blanks.

"She called you insane. She berated you! Insulted us both right in front of us both!" she explained, "She was as bad as the rest of them!" Pinkie Pie gritted her teeth and rebutted "She's not like that anymore! She's clearly changed!"

"Just leave her alone for a while" Rainbow Dash advised the curious Maud, "she hasn't been… herself for a while".

"What? Not been _herself_?" Maud asked with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. Twilight stepped forward and answered "Yeah… she under some stress. So sometimes she needs to be… left alone". Maud thought about the situation before questioning "She hasn't been… talking to herself, has she?" Twilight and the others looked to eachother in surprise before Twilight answered "Well… yes".

Maud turned away from the group and sighed in dissatisfaction.

"This is about her imaginary friend, isn't it?"

"What the…? How do you know about that?" Rainbow Dash asked in shock, the others remaining expectant for Maud's answer. "She's been having these problems as a filly" Maud explained, "Every day, whenever she could, she would just spend the whole day stumbling around, having conversations with herself".

"At first, I thought it was just her trying to have fun. After all, the rock farm was a pretty uneventful place" Maud continued as she paced within the living room, "But when I last saw her, she seemed like… a completely different pony". Twilight then explained "That imaginary friend came back recently, but now… it's a split personality".

Maud's ears perked as she turned to face the unicorn with a confused face, "A split personality?! That's impossible". "It's true" Rainbow Dash intervened as she stood up from the sofa, "She would sometimes turn completely into Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie would disappear".

"What?!" Maud exclaimed with a sneer "I've never heard something so ridiculous! That doesn't make any sense at all". Maud looked towards the staircase and announced "I'm gonna talk to her about this!" before stomping her way upstairs, "I thought she was passed this rubbish!"

* * *

Maud continued through the hall and stopped outside Pinkie Pie's door, before landing several sharp knocks upon the wood, "Pinkie Pie! Open up!"

A silence fell, before Pinkie Pie replied "No! Maud, please leave me alone!"

Irritated, Maud demanded "Pinkie Pie, let me in now! I know about Pinkamena!" From this, the door slowly creaked open and Pinkie poked her head through the gap, only for Maud to quickly push her way into the room. Astonished by this, Pinkie stuttered "Maud! Please! You shouldn't be in here right now!"

Maud merely answered "You've caused those ponies some grief, but you can't scare me. I never believed you" as she stared intensely at her sibling. Maud shut the door and faced Pinkie Pie directly, "There is no Pinkamena… only an excuse".

* * *

Meanwhile, the remaining trio stayed in the living room, astounded by how inconsiderate Pinkie Pie's sister had exposed herself to be. "How rude of her! We've been trying to help Pinkie through her problems, and _she_ thinks it's all just some ridiculous fairy tale?!" Twilight ranted openly among her friends.

Rainbow Dash, entirely in agreement with Twilight, added "How could she possibly think that! We've known Pinkie Pie for so long, and she hasn't seen her in _years_!" Applejack, the more considerate of the three but overall in alignment alongside the others, stated "And now she's gone upstairs to give Pinkie Pie a mouthful when she's done nothing wrong".

"That's it!" Twilight announced, currently fuming with pure concentrated anger, "I'm going up there to give her a piece of my mind". With the others following close behind her, Twilight made her way up the stairs and walked down the hallway to Pinkie Pie's door, the voices from inside growing ever more audible.

She stopped outside the room and heard the conversation that took place, completely confirmed in her speculation on the nature of Maud's intent. She heard Maud discussing the matter and Pinkie Pie only responding occasionally, and was prepared to interrupt their conversation.

"Put an end to all of this, Pinkie Pie. You don't need to have imaginary friends anymore".

Twilight paused as she prepared to open the door, before leaning in closer to door once her friends joined her outside.

"No! Maud, you don't understand! I can't…" Pinkie Pie stuttered nervously, intending to quell the raging storm within her mind. "Pinkie Pie, you've made so many real friends while you've been here! Why is Pinkamena still even a thing?!" Maud questioned with expressed skepticism.

"If only she knew I can hear her… the irony is stunning" the voice sneered within Pinkie Pie's straining mind. Pinkamena had been speaking within Pinkie's subconscious ever since the conversation began and had hindered Pinkie's concentration greatly, much to Maud's obliviousness.

"Pinkamena is real, Maud. I swear! And she's dangerous too! She wants to hurt ponies!" Pinkie explained, exposing a detail the Maud hadn't expected. "Pinkie Pie, I understand why you ran away from home, and I knew something like that would happen. Something happened with Mom and Dad, didn't it?"

Pinkamena whispered "She has no idea, does she?" upon hearing this. "You ran away from home just because it was too boring for you. _Not_ because of Pinkamena!" Maud claimed, "And I don't blame you! It was rough for us both, so I ended up running away as well!"

"When did you last see mom and dad?" Pinkie Pie asked, trembling from anxiety. "Me? Well, right after you told me about that 'Pinkamena' mumbo-jumbo. So I haven't seen them either" Maud confessed. "Well… you shouldn't have…" Pinkie exclaimed before a sudden throbbing pain had bloomed within her temple, "She's… gonna hurt _you_ too!"

Pinkie Pie soon felt a relentless agony in her head, followed by constant, schizophrenic twitching.

"And what makes you think … Pinkamena is so dangerous to me?" Maud questioned, having only now noticed her sister's peculiar behavior.

"BECAUSE SHE'S INSIDE MY HEAD RIGHT NOW! GRREAAAAHHAAAAH! SHE WON'T SHUT UP!" she screeched in agony as her head had begun straining from overwhelming pain.

By this time, Maud had finally realized the struggle Pinkie Pie was currently undergoing while she remained oblivious. "Pinkie Pie, what's happening?!" Maud Pie asked in horror as her sister began quaking uncontrollably.

Immediately, Twilight burst through the door and shouted "Maud! What's going on in here?!" before halting to witness this terrifying scene. Rainbow Dash ran to Maud and shouted "What did you do to her!?" Maud Pie answered "Nothing, I swear!" before backing into the nearby corner, her lower jaw quivering worriedly.

Pinkie Pie soon fell to the floor and leaned against the bedpost in submission. Twilight then stepped between Maud and her schizophrenic sibling, "Pinkamena is a real thing, you idiot! We've had to deal with it for half a year now!" she exclaimed furiously. "But that doesn't make any sense!" Maud whined before facing the unicorn.

Twilight simply remained silent as all eyes focused upon her, a blank and expressionless face greeting them in return. Finally, Twilight fell forward and landed without preparation for the landing, Pinkie Pie standing behind her in a vastly altered state.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

Pinkamena flashed a sadistic grin as she turned her piecing gaze to the intact trio, shouting "Yes! YEEEAS! I'M BACK IN CONTROL! HEEHHEEHEHAAAHAAAAH!" She gave one final glance to the unconscious unicorn and remarked "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that, Twilight!" before refocusing her attention.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack became fearful but knew to stand their ground, aware that their combined efforts could be advantageous in a conflict. Pinkamena could see their strategy and remained stationary to plot a plan of action, all while the pair kept eye contact on her every move.

Maud was completely paralysed with incomprehension, unable to believe what she had just seen her sister do to somepony. "Pinkie Pie would never do a thing like that…" she muttered to herself as she stared at Twilight's form, "You're… Pinkamena". Pinkamena simple rolled her eyes and sarcastically replied "Nothing seems to get passed _you_ , Maud" before chuckling cruelly.

Maud sat ungraciously as she rambled under her breath "I never believed it… I thought she made it all up…" before sobbing, "It was true…". Maud always knew that her sister was often irrational, but never violent; "I'm… so stupid" Maud sobbed before hanging her head in shame.

"It took you a while to realise it" Pinkamena snickered, before changing to a more professional tone and informing "Well, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to". Applejack and Rainbow Dash both asked "What are you talking about" in unison, remaining ready for any sudden attacks.

Pinkamena turned away from the trio as she admitted "You know, Maud… I forgot all about you too. It's really convenient that you happen to come back". "Convenient? Why?" Maud questioned, her glistening eyes watching her former sister approach the nearby counter. Pinkamena reached for the desk and armed herself with a wooden shaft.

"You see, you ponies seem to have a certain-".

Before she could even finish her villainous monologue, Applejack had identified her intentions and taken her by surprise. She jumped behind her and grasped the shaft, attempting to pry it from the lunatic's grip. The pair began tugging against both ends of the shaft, Pinkamena growling "Let go, you stupid…".

To Applejack's surprise, Pinkamena presented a level of strength that greatly exceeded her own, and she was suddenly swung across the room and impacted against the bedroom wall. Disoriented, Applejack was unprepared for Pinkamena striking her against the back of her head with the broad end of the shaft, and collapsed into an unconscious state.

"NO!" Rainbow Dash screamed in despair, before impulsively leaping behind Pinkamena and attempting to subdue her.

Before she could react, Pinkamena found herself laying against the floor with Rainbow Dash's hooves hooked around her arms, pinning them to her sides. She thrashed and shifted wildly to escape, though Rainbow Dash proved to have her immobilized by her front hooves, though her legs were free to retaliate.

Pinkamena kicked violently and sent Rainbow Dash tumbling forward, freeing her hooves from her grasp. Pinkamena turned and ran shoulder-first into the pegasus and pummeling her against another bedroom stumbled into the center of the room as Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, groaning from the pain in her wings from the impact against the wall.

Rainbow Dash proved incapable of provoking Pinkamena any further, allowing the maniac to finally turn towards her final and favoured target, the inept Maud.

She grabbed the shaft from the floor and pointed it towards her in a threatening display, though Maud had entered a state of incomprehension of her situation. She simply sat in the room and made no attempt to escape, and Pinkamena took this a mere convenience for her.

As this occurred, Twilight had begun recovering from her unconsciousness and struggled to sit up from the floor, while focusing her sight to understand her position.

She soon focused on Pinkamena, the lunatic looming over her sister and prepared to complete her deeds of violence on a high note. She could clearly see both Applejack and Rainbow Dash incapacitated in separate corners of the room, further representing the urgency of the matter.

No matter how she tried, she couldn't find an alternative, "Sorry, Pinkie Pie" she spoke before she began to cast her chosen spell. Her horn began Her horn began glowing brightly as a loud, deafening crackle echoed throughout the house.

"Instantum Illuminarus Abraxas!"

* * *

After the hectic events that took place in Sugarcube Corner, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack recovered from their trauma, and Maud had been snapped from her state of inactivity.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, hadn't faired as luckily, as she had suffered severely from the power of Twilight's electrical shocking spell. Without delay, she was rushed back to the hospital by her friends, and transferred by the staff to the emergency room for immediate attention.

The head doctor approached Twilight as they remained in the waiting room, questioning how Pinkie Pie's fate had come about."I was practicing a study of spells based on electricity…" Twilight lied to the doctor, "Pinkie Pie just came in at the wrong time".

Thankfully swayed by this answer, the doctor stated "Well… Pinkie Pie will need to recover overnight, but you're free to see her in the ward for ten minutes".

The ensemble entered the ward and came by Pinkie Pie's bed, ironically the same bed she occupied earlier today. Maud remained speechless as tears well in her eyes, and Twilight held her shoulder to comfort her. "I can never say sorry enough for this…" she grimaced, "I couldn't think of anything else fast enough".

"Well, it can only get better from here" Applejack stated in an effort to bring light to this dark situation. "I'd like to know how" Maud Pie sighed before hanging her head in shame of her own negligence. Twilight then added "Well, it definitely couldn't get any worse than this, to be sure".

Maud looked over her sister one final time, finding that assessment to be fairly agreeable. Eventually, the group decided to leave Pinkie Pie to recuperate, Maud deciding to take up residency within Sugarcube Corner as her sister suggested.

In all the years she had spent alone, she had never felt so lonely.

 **The End?**


	11. A Missing Piece Part 1

**MLP: The Spirit of Secession. Part 1**

It was currently midnight for Ponyville, and all sources of light to be found within the town were long since doused, blanketing the environment in darkness. The hospital, contrary to Ponyville, had remained active and bustled with activity, handling injured or ill patients in a rapid fashion. Among the patients was the typically excitable Pinkie Pie, who was left to rest in an unconscious state.

She had suffered greatly at the hooves of Twilight from an electric spell, cast upon her to prevent the ensuing mayhem by her alternate personality Pinkamena.

Meanwhile, her visiting elder sister Maud Pie and her friends had returned to the local Library, deciding to seek refuge for the rest of the night. As Applejack and Rainbow Dash sought to recover from Pinkamena's vicious attack, Twilight herself had excluded herself from the group and sat at a nearby desk.

She was lost in thought from considering her actions and they're consequences, overwhelmed with guilt from using her magic for what was potentially an unnecessarily violent purpose, especially against her own friend.

As she brooded to herself in the corner of the library, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had begun explaining the basic outline of Pinkie Pie's dilemma to her sister, who had every intent to listen ever since witnessing her sibling's destructive capabilities for the first time.

"So she can become Pinkamena at any time at all?" Maud questioned curiously, her voice remaining a soft whisper. Rainbow winced as she turned to face Maud, answering "She used to only appear when Pinkie Pie was upset, but nothing happened today that could've possibly triggered that" Rainbow explained as she stroked her injured wings.

"And sometimes… she takes over my sister's mind _completely_?" Maud asked in disbelief, her breaths growing heavier from panic. "Stay calm, Maud. Pinkamena doesn't always win, y'know" Applejack intervened as she held her forehead, "When she loses, Pinkamena disappears for long periods of time".

Maud nodded from to this in agreement, as Rainbow added "Not to mention, Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie were apparently 'friends' when she was a filly, weren't they?" before Maud nodded a second time. Rainbow Dash's wings tucked away as she admitted "Then I find it weird how Pinkamena would usually attack others, but she always claims that she does it to protect Pinkie Pie".

"So Pinkamena's delusional?!" Maud question, only for Rainbow Dash to grimace "Well… we have done some things that… would give her that impression". Applejack intervened and she said "Pinkamena and Pinkie are always talkin' all friendly like, so it's a good thing that she doesn't wanna hurt _Pinkie Pie_ ".

As she said this, Applejack instantly imagined a truly morbid scenario. The whole of Ponyville was in shambles, windows bellowing with smoke and fire, all while Pinkamena staggered through the carnage with a satisfied grin. Applejack shivered nervously, concluding "All the same, it doesn't make a big difference".

Rainbow Dash attempted to leave the couch, only to wince in pain and fall back against it and grunt from the pain she felt as a result. "It's crazy" Rainbow grimaced, "She really showed a reason for us to be afraid of her". The pegasus made a second attempt to stand, and finally succeeded before approaching Applejack, "The both of us against her, and she beat us both without a sweat!"

Applejack nodded in agreement, "Well, that's what happens when somepony is pushed passed their limits. You can't tell how dangerous they can truly be".

"It took almost obliterating her to stop her".

All eyes immediately grew wide with astonishment as they focused on the unicorn, who continued to brood in the corner. She held her neck and acknowledged the injury, groaning "We really have a problem… If I have to electrocute her to keep her docile". She left her desk as she offered "I'll need to find another way to stop Pinkamena without hurting her" before she closed her eyes and sighed in dismay.

"Hey, Twilight! If it weren't for ya, _none_ of us would've stopped her" Applejack reminded the unicorn, "And it's like we said before, It can only get better from here". Twilight turned face the southerner and yelled "Are you kidding!? Our friend being in the hospital is not something to be thankful for!"

"Stop getting angry, Maud. It's not like we can fix it now" Rainbow Dash explained, though Twilight found no wisdom to be gained from this statement and returned to the corner of the room. "It's just strange…" Applejack began, "We never knew about Pinkamena until only about five months ago".

"Five months?!" Maud suddenly questioned with a curious tone, "So she never mentioned Pinkamena before then?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned to eachother before shaking their heads, "No. She's never had any kind of mental problems before now. She was always was just a giddy pony that enjoyed making ponies happy".

"I should have guessed so… But Pinkamena…" Maud muttered before sighing, "When she was a filly, I found her somewhere away from the rock farm, talking to herself and she seemed to be really happy". Rainbow Dash and Applejack began listened closely as Maud continued "I always thought it was an act… that she was just having fun… The rock farm was such a horrible place, after all" Maud began sobbing to herself as she continued.

"It's so weird. On paper, split personalities sound completely ridiculous. But…" her voice cracked suddenly, before she continued "But now… I've seen it! It's in my sister, and I've seen what it can do. It's absolutely terrifying!"

Maud then sniffed to herself as a single tear fell from her cheek and onto the carpeted floor, "How did I not notice it?" she grimaced. "My sister was losing her mind while none of her family were paying any attention. She was so desperate for a friend, she befriended _herself_ " she cringed.

Unable to restrain her pain any longer, she wailed in pity "HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!?" As she sulked, Rainbow Dash sat beside her and wrapped her arm around Maud's shoulder, prompting Maud to lean against her and cry against her chest.

Twilight finally left her desk as she yawned wearily, watching over this display of anguish and blaming naught but herself for it. "I think you girls should stay here for the night" Twilight advised, before adding "We can figure something out with Pinkie Pie tomorrow".

Without another word, Twilight made her way upstairs to her private retreat before diving under her covers, though it was difficult to find rest from the pain that beckoned from within her neck. "Twilight's been beating herself up for a lot of her mistakes" Applejack considered. Maud Pie then replied "Well, can you blame her? She's just electrocuted my sister!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the nearby streets, lay the local hospital of Ponyville. A depressing sight to behold for a foreign eye, particularly for the sights to witness inside; but was unfortunately the abode of Pinkie Pie for an unforeseen amount of time yet to come.

As of this moment, Pinkie Pie resided in one of the many wards of this dismal establishment, recuperating from her injuries inflicted during this evening's events, which unfortunately ended in her electrocution and comatose condition. She constantly tossed and twitched uncomfortably in her bed, though whether from her current state of health or from the lack of comfort provided from the bed she slept in was unknown.

However, as the clock chimed 12:00, Pinkie Pie slowly stirred into consciousness and sat up in the bed, slouching forward and sighing wearily. Pinkie's eyes slowly opened to revealing a bloodshot, soul-piercing gaze, while her mouth twisted into a large grin.

She stepped out of the bed before grunting from the uncomfortable pain in her back. "Ugh! First their robes are always too small; and now their beds are _so_ stiff, that they may as well be filled with sand. And they call this a hospital?" she sneered before staggering her way from the ward room into the main hall.

However, as she meandered through the following corridor, a doctor spotted her and recognized her as a patient, prompting him to quickly run to her and ask "Miss, where are you going?" Pinkamena turned to face him and replied "Anywhere that I wanna!" before turning to continue towards the main entrance.

Suddenly, the doctor stopped her in her tracks and stated "Miss Pie, you must return to the ward room". "Get away from me, freak!" she howled madly before pushing the doctor over and rushing passed him towards the main entrance of the building.

She pushed the doors open recklessly and shouted "FREEDOM! WAHAHAHAAAAH!" before running off into the streets. She soon spotted a nearby alleyway and bolted for it, diving into the narrow passageway and stopping to catch her breath, until she exclaimed "Well, I dunno about you, cherub; but _I_ couldn't stand another second in that place".

She peeked out of the alleyway to find multiple staff members of the hospital, clearly searching for a crazed runaway patient of her specific stature. "What do you say we head home, Pinkie Pie? Y'know, grab something to eat, and have a little rest and relaxation?" There was no answer, not that she was expecting one, and she soon made her way back to her alter ego's home to revitalize herself.

* * *

Once finally at her house, Pinkamena burst through the door and breathed in the surrounding air, savouring the fresh scent of sanctuary. "Haahhhh… I love this place. Very quiet, and the neighbours respect your privacy here. Saves dealing with prying eyes. Eh Hehehehe…" she boasted before staggering into the kitchen for a meal.

As she shifted through the contents in Pinkie Pie's fridge, she soon came across a tray carrying a certain collection of petite pastries. "Cupcakes!" she screamed with delight before pulling the innutritious treats from the fridge and eyeing them with insurmountable desire.

"Oh… These take me back!" she grinned before grabbing one and greedily stuffing it into her mouth, sighing in bliss from the delectable taste. Her eyes shut lazily as she muttered "These are so good… I knew Pinkie Pie was a good cook, but she's _really_ outdone herself with these".

She soon gazed up to the roof and called "If you can hear me, Pinkie Pie, I love your cupcakes and I always have!" before a dumb, content grin spread across her cheeks. However, much like earlier, there was an ominous absence of a response; however, unlike then, Pinkamena had taken notice of it by this time.

"Pinkie Pie? Are you there?" she questioned into the cold night air, before listening carefully for a reply.

The following silence had begun to concern her, tempting her to ask once again "Cherub? Can you hear me?" Unfortunately, the lack of an answer had confirmed her suspicion. Despite this, Pinkamena shrugged and muttered "She must be still asleep" to herself. "Maybe... I should sleep now too. She might come back tomorrow" she assumed before stumbling from the living room to the upstairs bedroom.

As soon as she entered the bedroom, Pinkamena slowly turned her head in various positions to relieve the welling strain as she lay herself in the bed, mumbling to herself "I hope Pinkie Pie comes back by tomorrow. It feels… heheheheh… kinda lonely" before shutting her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Pinkie Pie remained in bed even after 8:00 chimed from the wall-mounted clock. Soon though, she eventually stirred into consciousness and sat up from the bed, yawning lazily and rubbing her eyes of the excess sleep. Once she had a sense of her position, however, she realized that something was wrong about her current situation.

She was still Pinkamena.

She tugged on her lank hair in shock and shouted "What the- Why am _I_ still here?!" She soon stumbled out of the bed in a panic as a flood of questions assaulted her at once. "Pinkie Pie!? Cherub!? Are you there?! Say something!" An uncomfortable silence followed, and Pinkamena screamed "PLEASE, TALK TO MAAAAEEEEEEEEEE!"

Pinkamena held the sides of her head as beads of sweat poured from her temple. Too many unanswered questions. Why was she still in control? Why hadn't Pinkie Pie come back yet? Was she still there anymore? What if she wasn't?

"NOOO!" Pinkamena screamed in horror, "She can't be gone! SHE _CAN'T_ BE GONE!"

Pinkamena continued to panic as a knock on the door interrupted her hysterical fit, followed by "Hey, Pinkie Pie! Are you there?" Pinkamena quickly recognized the voice as Pinkie Pie's sister, who was possibly visiting Pinkie about leaving the hospital. "Ack! It's her sister! She can't see me!" she muttered to herself nervously, before plotting a way to hide herself.

Eventually, she decided to disguise herself as her alter ego, reminiscent of her ploy with Pinkie Pie's friends in the café less than 5 months ago, before Maud Pie slowly entered the house without any permission. Pinkamena desperately wanted to call her out on this intrusive action, but believed that Pinkie wouldn't be bothered about such petty concerns, and abandoned the desire. She rustled her hair until it resembled its alternate appearance and strutted into the hallway to greet the visitor.

"Hey Sis, how's it going?" she greeted with a fake expression of glee, only to be answered "Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital!" Pinkamena raised an eyebrow and asked "Well, what are you doing looking for me _here_ instead of _there?_ " until realizing that she may have endangered her cover from this statement. "I was just there, and the doctors are looking for you because you ran away!" Maud informed, leaving Pinkamena in a trap of her own making.

"Well, that's not what _I_ remember. I woke up _here_ " Pinkamena replied, now relying on her split personality to cover her track. She wanted to portray that Pinkamena ran away from the hospital and Pinkie Pie had woken up in her house, instead of her being Pinkamena on both occasions. This explanation was so complicated to type that the writer spent an hour searching for the appropriate way to explain it. "But, oh well. How are Twilight and the others? I hope I- no, _she_ … wait, no- _I_ didn't hurt them" Pinkamena stuttered nervously.

"They're more worried about what happened to _you_. Ever since Twilight shocked you with lightning, she's-" Maud explained before Pinkamena suddenly shouted "SHE DID WHAT!?" Maud then fell into a state of panic and attempted to explain "Well, she needed to stop… um… Pinkamena. So she… shocked you with lightning and knocked you out. She's been stressing herself over it for the entire morning".

"Please go".

Maud tilted her head in confusion and asked "What? No! We need to take you back to the hospital. For all we know, you-" Before she could conclude her exclamation, Pinkamena suddenly slammed the door shut and locked it in one swift motion. Ignoring the calls and pleads of her alternate personality's sister, she leaned against the door, rasping heavily to herself from overwhelming shock.

"No! Pinkie Pie, please!" she whimpered weakly, truly unbefitting of her reputation, before wrapping her arms around her legs and curling up against the door.

Maud peered through the window that lead to the kitchen and noticed this act, growing steadily more worried for her sibling's health. Despite her emotional desires, she decided against conversing with Pinkie Pie during this current episode and chose to return to Twilight's library, intending to allow Pinkie a chance to regain her composure.

However, upon turning away from the window and taking her leave, Maud failed to notice Pinkamena slowly rise from the floor and shakily stumble her way up the staircase and towards her bedroom door. She stepped into her bedroom and locked the door, before crawling onto her bed and simply laying unmoving against the backrest. She shut her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"Pinkie Pie… don't leave me here by myself".

 **To be continued…**


	12. A Missing Piece Part 2

**MLP: The Spirit of Secession. Part 2**

Maud Pie trudged her way through the streets of Ponyville, on route to Twilight's abode and Ponyville's local library. Throughout the short journey, her mind was attempting to piece together the knowledge she had gained since she had witnessed Pinkamena for the first time, attempting to discover what set this chaos in motion.

However, these thoughts were temporarily put aside as she stopped before the closed entrance to the library and knocked loudly, before leaning closely for any signs of approaching inhabitance. Currently, Twilight and Rainbow Dash currently resided in the unicorn's bedroom when the loud knocks echoed throughout the building, though they fell on deaf ears.

While Rainbow was lounging lazily on a leather couch, Twilight was busy writing in her study book, and had been for the past two hours. Maud, growing impatient, suddenly burst through the door in a rush, startling Rainbow enough for her to tumble off of the couch.

"Is Twilight here?" Maud asked the dazed pegasus. Rainbow was preoccupied with getting up from the floor before answering "Yeah, she's here. But what's going on? Are you alright?" Maud helped her to her hooves before she replied " _I'm_ fine, but it's my sister. She's locked herself up inside her house and she wouldn't let me in".

"Well, she's in the study. I'll go get her" Rainbow replied before becoming airborne and soaring to the second floor balcony and into Twilight's bedroom, gaining the unicorn's attention and providing a brief explanation of what Maud had told her. Oddly, Twilight's response was to step backward nervously, prompting a raised eyebrow from her informer; Twilight then warned "It sounds like Pinkamena to me... I'll come, but we'll need to watch our backs".

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain depraved damsel had barricaded herself inside her home and hidden within the confinement of the prison she had created. All of the windows were blocked by furniture, and all of the doors were locked. Pinkamena was currently weeping to herself in the bedroom, and had been ever since Maud had left for the library.

"I don't want to take over…" she rasped schizophrenically, "I don't wanna get rid of you, cherub".

Upon her out-of-character sobbing, Pinkamena had spent the whole time hoping Pinkie Pie would sporadically return, which unfortunately had yet to occur. "I… I'm so sorry, Pinkie Pie! I didn't mean for this to happen! I don't even know _how_ this happened!" Pinkamena's exclaimed, her mind in shambles from this heartbreaking outcome, and it was only going to further deteriorate.

She sat up from the bed and leaned forward, "Please, you can't leave me alone… not here with those disgusting monsters. All those things they want to do to us… and Maud wants to do as well" she whimpered before sniffing distraughtly.

"And that unicorn… electrocuting us and putting us in the hosp-".

Pinkamena's eyes widened in sudden realization, before she leaned further forwards the rest her arms against her knees. "That spell…" she whispered in shock, "Ever since she cast it… my cherub's been…" Her jaw dropped open in shock as she began fitting the pieces together, though the final solution was less than satisfying.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by "Umm… Pinkie Pie… Hello?"

Pinkamena's heart ceased motion for a second as she recognized the voice. She soon heard the sound of a creaking door and hoofsteps emanate from the stairs, and she slowly followed the sound to the outside of her door. She slowly dragged herself from the bed and stood upon her four legs, before the door slowly creaked open to reveal her three guests.

"Pinkamena?!" Twilight shouted in surprise before the group began backing away on instinct. Pinkamena merely stood motionless, staring at them with a soul piercing gaze. Eventually, the malicious personality simply muttered "Well, you did it". The group remained wary, but were confused by this statement.

Pinkamena lowered her head as her lank hair slid from her shoulders and over her eyes, before continuing "I knew it all along… but she didn't believe me"; Pinkamena then suddenly screamed "WHY DIDN'T SHE BELIEVE ME!?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Twilight questioned with concern. Pinkamena raised her head and replied "It doesn't matter anymore… She-" before pausing to shut her eyes and loosen the building tears in her eyes, "Sh… She's gone now… Pinkie Pie's gone".

"GONE!?" Maud suddenly yelled and pushed passed Twilight to approach Pinkamena, shouting "What have you done to my sister, you monster!"

This action proved to be an immense mistake.

* * *

Before she could fully comprehend what had just happened, Maud found herself laying upon the carpet floor, struggling wildly under her attacker's grip. Pinkamena laid on top of Maud and stared down into her terrified eyes, applying more and more pressure to her hooves as they weighed down against her throat.

Maud desperately thrashed and attempted to escape this devastating fate, though her former sister's strength proved to be increasingly overwhelming.

"I'M GONNA TEAR YOU TO PIESCES! ALL OF YOU! I HATE YOU!" Pinkamena screamed hysterically, "YOU TOOK MY CHERUB AWAY FROM ME! YOU FREAKS THINK IT'S FUNNY TO TORMENT ME AND MY CHERUB?! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THIS, YOU SCUMMY HAGS!"

By this time, Maud was slowly beginning to weaken, and her vision begin to blur into a single color. However, contrary to her expectations, the peaceful realm of unconsciousness failed to claim her, as the pressure against her throat had suddenly been relieved.

Maud leaned upward and coughed into the open air while simultaneously gasping for breath, before steadying her gaze in order to regain her hindered vision. She soon discovered Pinkamena between Rainbow and Twilight, the duo restraining the violent psychopath as she kneeled in defeat.

Maud arose from the floor and stumbled clumsily towards her former sister, the latter beginning to swoon in her captors' grips. Pinkamena leaned her head upwards and muttered faintly "What… what are y-… you gonna do to… me?" before suddenly passing out and being carefully laid upon the floor.

Maud turned to Twilight and asked "What happened?! What did you do?!" Twilight raised her hoof and explained "I have her under a sleeping charm. I was practicing it this morning on Rainbow Dash before you came by", while Rainbow glared towards the unicorn in annoyance. The trio stared down at the comatose maniac before Twilight concluded "It should help us against Pinkamena if something like this happens again".

However, unlike the others, Maud had lost all comprehension that the pony laying before her was still her sibling, and that her true sibling possibly no longer existed. Although surprisingly, Maud felt little sorrow from this discovery, and her emotions were purely encompassed by rage.

"What has that… 'thing' done to Pinkie Pie!?" Maud tensed with boiling frustration, before Twilight stepped in front of her. "Why are you blaming _her_? She probably had nothing to do with it!" Twilight argued. "Why blame _her_?! She's taken over my sister's mind!" Maud shouted.

"What are you talking about?" asked a nervous Rainbow. "That's what happens…" Maud replied, before her anger was finally replaced with her sorrow. Maud shivered as she continued "In cases of split personalities, one of the personalities _has_ to eventually take over". Maud then fell to her knees in despair and sobbed "What if Pinkamena's won?" before her tears began to pour upon the floor.

Twilight then stated "Well then why was Pinkamena blaming _us_ for it? She probably doesn't know what's going on either".

"Pinkamena is a liar! I spent years watching Pinkie Pie do bizarre things, thinking she was just lonely and upset. But Pinkamena was manipulating her into doing it the whole time!" Maud turned and stared angrily into Twilight's eyes, "All those years of watching my sister lose herself to this… thing! She's already suffered enough of this torment, and so have _we_! I'm going to fix this, if it's the last thing that I do!"

Twilight then interrupted "And how are you going to do that?! Tell me", while staring back into Maud's eyes, "How are you possibly going to help her when you have nothing to help her with?" Twilight argued with an intent to prove herself in front of a rivaling intellect. "Well, for _one_ thing, I'm not going to electrocute her" Maud sneered spitefully.

Now, this was on a personal level.

"If I didn't electrocute her, your 'sister' would've ripped you apart!" Twilight shouted. "And yet, you were perfectly willing to endanger my sister's life to avoid this?!" Maud fumed in frustration. "You are such an ungrateful little… Ugh! Now I can understand the _real_ reason why Pinkamena was her only choice for a friend" Twilight spat with overflowing hatred.

"And how about _you_? Do you think that you can fix all of this on your own, Twilight? Face it, you've done enough damage as it is, but you're too much of a wimp to admit it" Maud growled with spite, "And you know wh-".

Suddenly, Maud stopped in the middle of her rant and fell silent.

Maud attempted to speak again, only to find that she couldn't emit a single sound, and the cause of this soon made herself apparent. Twilight sat silently in the center of the room and stared at Maud intensely, her horn glowing an abnormal shade of black all the while.

Twilight had casted a jinx on Maud that prevented her from speaking. Twilight fumed with rage as she breathed heavily to feed the raging storm, before muttering between heaving breaths "Never… say that… to me… ever… again!"

Rainbow Dash stepped in from the sidelines and questioned "Twilight, what are you doing?" Twilight's frown soon subsided into a deranged grin as she replied "What does it look like I'm doing. I'm shutting her up!"

"Twilight! Are you out of your mind!? Jinxes are black magic! STOP IT, NOW!"After suddenly coming to her senses and realized her actions, Twilight quickly released Maud from her curse and relented her rage-fueled assault. Twilight stepped away from the pair and stuttered breathlessly "I… I didn't just do that… Did I?"

Twilight had always detested the practice of jinxes, and was no less than devastated with herself for using them to accomplish something as insignificant as winning an argument. Twilight then sat on the floor, wallowing in self-loathing for these actions.

"Um, Twilight?" Rainbow began, watching Twilight's actions with concern. "I've had enough!" Twilight suddenly jumped to a standing form and shouted angrily, "I've had it with this! All of this madness and drama; I'm literally going insane just from being a part of it!"

Twilight staggered to her desk and slammed her head against it, prompting the two witnesses to silently watch and question Twilight's own sanity. Twilight was often found to be obsessed and somewhat irritable, but she never had any intent to force her superiority upon others. As she continued to grind her forehead against the desk, she grunted "All just Pinkie Pie now! It's all about _her_ health! JUST HER!"

Twilight slammed her head against the desk a final time and continued "Pinkamena beats me and Applejack to a pulp, and nopony cares! But I go and electrocute her, and _everypony_ loses their minds! Now Pinkamena's taken over Pinkie Pie ever… since…" Twilight lifted her head from the desk in sudden realization, "Ever since I electrocuted her"; Twilight turned the face the other two occupants of the room.

"We need to wake her up. Now!"

As she said this, Rainbow Dash stepped forward and yelled "Twilight, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you!?"

"Yes I am!" Twilight grunted through gritted teeth, "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Twilight, I'm not going to let you hurt her!" Maud shouted angrily before stepping beside the defiant pegasus. "Do you want to see your sister ever again?!" Twilight asked as she glared towards Maud, taking the silence as an invitation to conclude "I'll wake her up, then we'll see what we can do". "Um… girls?" Rainbow suddenly intervened, diverting the pair's attention.

"I don't think you have to worry about waking her up".

* * *

Pinkamena stood before the trio as they simply stared back in surprise, though she hadn't any intent to attack them. She could've if she wanted to, but to what point and purpose? Pinkamena muttered plainly "You win" and sat upon the floor, prompting Twilight to ask "What? What do you mean?"

"I only ever wanted to be with her, and to keep her safe from sick freaks like you" she continued, "She meant everything to me". Pinkamena then huffed and lowered her head in resignation, before she concluded "And now… I've got nothing left".

"Why should _you_ care, anyway? Being a split personality, I thought you wanted to take over her mind" Maud accused, though Twilight cringed from this outburst and the possible response from the psychotic pony.

"WHAT!? Never! I'd never do that!" she screamed hysterically, "It's not true… I didn't mean to take over her body!" she pleaded pitifully. "I know you didn't" Twilight answered cautiously room as Pinkamena continued "I would sometimes come out, but only if somepony hurt her… so I would hurt them back".

Pinkamena turned to face her consultant, revealing a pair of tear-stained eyes for a true sight of despair. "But I would never hurt _her_! You know that! I just…" Pinkamena paused before shaking her head. "Nevermind… What are _you_ gonna do now?" Pinkamena sneered in a poor attempt to remain intimidating, despite her current display of emotional anguish.

"I think I know how to bring Pinkie Pie back!"

Pinkamena's eyes shot open in surprise before shouting "WHAT!? YOU CAN BRING HER BACK?! HOW!?" Pinkamena stood up from the floor and stepped in front of Twilight, listening eagerly as Twilight explained "I have a theory that last night, when I shocked you with electricity, it may actually have affected you in some way! You may not have taken over her mind yet, and she's probably still in there. But she just can't come out anymore".

"Y-you actually wanna… bring her back?" Pinkamena asked, to which Twilight nodded in confirmation. Pinkamena then asked quizzically "Well, what are you gonna do?" before a short silence filled the bedroom; "Well, I… may have to..." Twilight muttered awkwardly.

"You're gonna shock me _again_?!" Pinkamena questioned in horror, to which Twilight nervously nodded; "What kind of a plan is _that_?! What if it just makes it worse!?" "What choice do we have?!" Twilight answered, clearly displaying intent to get this ordeal over with.

Pinkamena was flustered by this incredibly dangerous decision. Does she continue on as the new host of her best friend's body, or risk a worse fate for a chance to bring her back? Finally coming to a decision, Pinkamena plainly answered "Alright, just do it". With the appropriate permission, she started channeling energy to her horn as it began to grackle with sparks of electricity.

As she prepared her spell, Pinkamena then explained "Understand this, Twilight. Under any other circumstances, I wouldn't even be letting you do this! I don't like you… and I _definitely_ don't trust you… but I have no choice but to believe you!" With that, Pinkamena sighed in defeat and tensed her muscles to brace herself for the oncoming ensemble of pain.

Eventually, the last thing Pinkamena was a witness to was the blinding white flash and the loud crackling fizz of electricity.

Before suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

Five hours later.

Despite how Twilight's colleagues desired to question her antics, they found that all that could be done any longer was wait to see if Twilight's theory was as likely as she had claimed. All of her friends had come to see Pinkie Pie as Applejack had informed them of the previous events, or at least what Twilight had desired her to tell them.

The loyal group soon debated whether to return her to the hospital or allow her to recover in her home.

Eventually, they agreed to leave her in her home, and that Maud would watch over her. For the following two hours, Pinkie Pie had not awoken and simply lay in a dormant state; concerning Maud all the more. "That Twilight had better know what she's doing; because if she doesn't, I'm gonna…" this rant was soon interrupted by a sudden groan, emanating from the bed.

Pinkie opened a single eye and slowly sat up from the bed. "I… Wh…" was all there was to say, as Maud suddenly leapt onto the bed had hugged her sister with excitement.

"PINKIE PIE! YOU'RE OKAY!" Maud shouted with a rather peculiar level of joy, for which she was rare to emote. "Yeah… I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be alright?" Pinkie mumbled. Maud then pulled away from the embrace and sat with a quizzical expression on her face, asking "You mean… you don't remember?"

Pinkie rubbed the back of her neck with confusion and answered "Um… no… not really. Did something happen to me?" For whatever reason, Maud suddenly began snickering, confusing Pinkie Pie even further before she lay her head on Pinkie's shoulder.

"Well, now… you see… That's kind of a long story".

 **The End?**


	13. Conquering the Odds Part 1

**MLP: Conquering the Odds. Part 1**

"Not one of my better jobs, but it's way too muggy to go on!"

Off to the east, within one of the more intact vales of vegetation and plant life of Equestria, lay the abode of the Apple family. As of this day, Equestria found itself under the influence of a life-withering heat wave, which had unfortunately resulted in a lack of work for both Applejack and her sister, Applebloom.

The two siblings had retreated to the confines of their house, desperate for salvation from this unacceptable weather, and were forced to spend the remainder of their day indoors. Applejack panted exhaustedly whilst wiping her brow of the gathering sweat, pouring forth from her currently lank hair and dripping upon the wooden floor, before she willingly collapsed on her living room sofa.

"This… was… too much…" she wheezed, unaware of her solitude within the room, but remained unwilling to consider such a petty concern. Applebloom, for her part, had collapsed carelessly on the bed in her bedroom, almost immediately falling asleep from the fatigue that the weather had inflicted upon them.

Eventually, Applejack followed suit and lost herself to her overwhelming exhaustion, resulting in the passing of two hours devoted to their recuperation.

Suddenly, Applejack was awakened by a loud _'Slam!'_ , surprising her enough for her to lose her balance and land headfirst against the floor. "Argh! Who…" she questioned in frustration. Soon enough, the cause of the sudden onslaught against her ears had revealed herself, as Twilight hesitantly rushed to Applejack's side.

"Applejack, are you awake?!" soon rang in Applejack straining ears, before she eventually stood up from the floor and held her head within her wrapped arms to quell the trauma.

"Yes… What is it, Twilight?" she asked out of both curiosity and irritation. "It's Pinkie Pie! She's not at her house, and I couldn't find her in town. So I thought she might be _here_!" Twilight blabbered nervously, before Applejack answered "Well, _I_ haven't seen her today". Applejack then pondered Twilight's actions and asked "Why are ya so worried anyway?"

Twilight simply stared at her as if she was insane and answered "What!? What if she's Pinkamena again?!" Unlike Twilight, Applejack had considered the later encounters with the devious entity, and replied "Well, Pinkamena hasn't appeared for a while… after we've rescued Pinkie Pie last time".

"How does that make a difference?" Twilight asked, an expression of confusion on her face as she awaited Applejack's response. Applejack paused to think to herself and stated "Well, we did save Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena knows it". Twilight considered this and Applejack finished "Maybe Pinkamena will start trusting us after this".

"Possibly…" Twilight began, before shaking her head and rebutting "But we can't take that chance". Applejack then reluctantly agreed and followed Twilight as she left through the front door, the pair making their way towards Ponyville to begin their search.

"We should at least make sure she hasn't gone and hurt herself".

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere along the outskirts of Ponyville, there was a large an expansive plain that's borders ran for several miles. Tall grass swarmed across the landscape and swayed gently in the breeze. Along the edge of the plain sat a large hill, sporting several tall trees with shadows looming over the plains.

Beneath the shade of this collection of vegetation sat a lone figure, her head bowed and eyes shut as she brooded to herself. She faced out towards the plain, a majority of Ponyville sitting in her view from the yonder distance, and was lost in thought as she contemplated her situation.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

Ever since the events of two months ago, Pinkamena had been left incredibly confused about her situation. From the very beginning, Pinkamena had desired to reap her vengeance upon Pinkie Pie's colleagues for what they had done to her. Rainbow Dash's deceitful trick during April Fool's Day, Twilight spying on them and documenting their split personality, and now Maud returning out of the blue to scold Pinkie for her dilemma.

Of course, Pinkamena felt justified in harassing, abusing and harming Pinkie Pie's friends for these misdeeds.

And yet, in light of recent events, Pinkamena had no clue of what to believe. Pinkie had disappeared entirely and left Pinkamena on her own, sending the latter spiraling with dismay. And to her astonishment, Pinkie's friends went out of their way to bring her back, without any motivation or necessity to do so.

Since then, Pinkie had begun living with Maud in Sugarcube Corner, and seemed to be happier than ever before. To a great extent, Pinkamena began believing that she was wrong all along.

"NO!"

Pinkamena's eyes went wide as she leapt to her hooves, shouting openly "I can't think that! Never!" She clenched her teeth with hate, growling "All of these nice things they do… all just another trick!" before glances to the yonder Ponyville.

"I'm not convinced! I won't fall for it!" she snarled as she stepped out of the shade, making her way across the field and back towards the streets of her cherub's home. Pinkamena felt satisfied with her conclusion, her spite having provided a reason to pursue her goal.

* * *

It was midday by the time Pinkamena made her way back to Ponyville, and the streets were bustling with activity. Pedestrians crossed paths and conversed with eachother as they went about their daily business.

Pinkamena quietly meandered her way through the crowds with her eyes on the ground, avoiding eye contact with any passerby around her. She knew that some would look upon her with curiosity, either recognizing her as Pinkie Pie or a complete stranger they'd never seen before.

Pinkamena felt more and more uncomfortable as she eventually made it into the heart of the Ponyville.

However, as she carelessly wandered through to Sugarcube Corner, she had soon noticed the lack of pedestrians that would surround her like before; she wondered "Wait… Where did everypony go?" Pinkamena soon turned to examine her surroundings, realizing that the town was suddenly devoid of inhabitance, leaving the irresponsible pedestrian confused by this strange sense of solitude that surrounded her.

She turned to face the opposite direction of the intersection from whence she came, discovering that the once populated suburb had become nothing more than an abandoned street. She ran through the street and rounded a corner to her left, before stopping to find a lack of inhabitance in the following suburb.

"Excuse me, miss?" said a voice suddenly. She turned to face the opposite direction for the call, only to find nopony in her view. "Miss, are you okay there?" a second voice asked. Pinkamena clutched the sides of her head in frustration and grunted to herself. Before she even knew what had occurred, she was leaning against a wall in an alleyway, desperately gasping for breath.

"What… what's going on?!" Pinkamena stammered, a bizarre sense of confusion sweeping through her mind as her heart began beating at an uncomfortable rate.

"Pinkie Pie? Is that _you_?"

A faint and distant call had filled the air and infested Pinkamena's ears, filling her with a sudden sense of relief, before returning to question the affiliation of who it was that addressed her. She turned to peer towards her entrance into this foreboding neighborhood once again, to find Twilight and Applejack sprinting towards her in great hesitation.

"Ack! Not _them_ again!" she thought to herself, before ducking behind the corner into a nearby alley way in a panic. As she gasped in fear, she had quickly concocted a scheme to prevent any evidence against her involvement. After grinning to herself in satisfaction, she suddenly lost all strength in her body as she slid down the wall and collapsed in the dirt.

And with that, by the time the distressed duo had happened upon Pinkie Pie, she was laying in torment against the brick wall to the left of the alleyway. "Pinkie Pie!?" Applejack screamed in horror before rushing to her companion's aid, while Pinkie stirred into being and tilted her head towards the pair.

"Wh… am… What the-?" Pinkie stuttered dizzily before regaining her senses and focused a single, open eye on Applejack.

"How… did I get here?" she asked Applejack with eager expectance for an answer, which was unfortunately, but inevitably, a futile pursuit. "What do ya mean, gal? We just saw ya standin' in the middle of the path here" Applejack answered in confusion.

Twilight was standing on the sidelines as Applejack tended to Pinkie, suspiciously pondering this peculiar action and questioned the cause to be either a simple action of panic, or that it was portrayed to appear that way.

As she pondered this, she soon noticed the sound of hoofsteps behind her, encouraging her to face the oncoming figure for assurance of its identity. To her surprise, an unknown pony was running franticly towards her and stopped right in front of Twilight, hesitantly pulling a bag from behind her and searching it of a specific artifact of importance.

"SorryI'malreadylateIneedtogo!" the flustered messenger blabbered in a panic, before pulling out an envelope with a thick wax seal.

"What?! Where's it fro-" the equally flustered Twilight asked, only for the messenger to interrupt "It'sfromCanterlotandtheysentmetogivethistoyouExcusemeHaveagooddayBye!" before clumsily spinning to face the opposite direction and disappearing into the street. Just listening to such an increased pace of dialogue was enough for Twilight to suffer a swiftly emerging headache.

"Who the heck was that?" Applejack exclaimed, whilst simultaneously supporting the stricken Pinkie Pie from underneath her arm. "I have no clue, but she gave me a letter from Canterlot" Twilight replied, before opening the letter and extracting the note from inside.

However, upon reading it, she discovered a mere blank piece of paper in her grasp, devoid of any writing, illustration or attachment. Twilight sat and pondered in confusion of what relevance this 'letter' could have, before suddenly having an idea; she retrieved a pen and levitated it to write upon the top-left corner of the paper.

' _This is Twilight Sparkle'_ was written upon the paper, which resulted in the paper itself to begin glowing faintly as writing began appearing below her statement.

' _Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle. This is Celestia writing to you'._

Twilight gasped in shock and quickly replied _'Your Ladyship! This is an honor to speak to you again'_. _'I'm afraid there is little time to negotiate. I need you to come visit me in Canterlot'._ Despite the lack of an explanation for this summoning, Twilight obliged and replied _'I'll be there by tonight, but is it alright if my friends join me?'_

An unexpected pause had stretched for an extended period of time before a reply returned, _'Very well, but be sure to be here by tonight. This is of the utmost importance'_. Twilight raised her eyebrow in concern for what Celestia required her for, considering her current predicament with Pinkie Pie, but inevitably obliged.

' _I will be there_ '.

* * *

By this time, night had engulfed the town and cloaked the environment in its volatile darkness, and Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Applejack were forced to travel for almost two hours until Canterlot was in their sights. During this journey, Pinkie had fully recovered from her strange ordeal and was perfectly willing, and somewhat excited, to have the chance to meet Celestia in her abode.

However, an overwhelming sense of regret had lingered in Pinkie's subconscious, as she had neither the chance nor the consideration to inform her sister. She was afraid for Maud to discover Pinkie's absence from home and fear for her safety, just as Twilight ironically did a few hours ago.

As they finally came towards the gates to this luminescent palace, Twilight discovered the gates themselves to be oddly wide open, with a single, formally dressed pegasus standing before them to greet them. "Good evening, Miss Sparkle. We have been expecting you" the suitor informed the group, before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion; "But we were not expecting additional guests to join you".

Twilight became as equally confused as the suitor before answering "Oh! Celestia told me that they could come with me". The suitor eyed upon the two exhausted followers, before noticing Pinkie Pie and staring at her indignantly.

"Now, now. I shall handle this matter!" called a feminine voice from behind the suitor, inquiring him to turn to face this commander. Standing before them with her typical grace, as well as her impressive height, was the host of the palace herself, Princess Celestia; the representative of Equestria and Twilight's personal teacher.

"Be on your way now, if you please" she ordered the suitor, who bowed in obligation and swiftly took his leave, allowing the guests to converse in privacy. "Please, Miss Sparkle. I would _not_ have summoned you at such a time without a just reason" she informed, as to expel any ill assumptions that may linger within this ensemble.

"I believe you, but what was it that you needed me for?" Twilight asked. Before answering, Celestia quickly held her tongue and peered upon the guests in suspicion, before confessing "I'm sorry, but I must tell this to _you_ , and _only_ you. We can discuss it in my conservatory".

Celestia then concentrated on Pinkie Pie and Applejack, suggesting "Meanwhile, your friends can seek comfort in my library. There will be food and drinks provided for them".

As she stated this, her attention was immediately drawn to Pinkie Pie, who had suddenly begun shaking uncontrollably while breathing heavily.

"Goodness me; are you okay, Miss Pie?" Celestia asked in genuine concern, only for Pinkie Pie to ignore this question. As soon as Twilight noticed this, her heart was instantly filled with dread, terrified of what would ensue from this unforeseen behavior.

Soon though, her bizarre shaking eventually ceased and Pinkie found herself surrounded by multiple fearful expressions. "Huh? What did you say?" Pinkie muttered unconfidently, which proved to only further concern her observers.

"Miss Pie… Is there something you wish to tell me?" Celestia questioned, inviting an opportunity to explain any situations or causes for her strange actions, which Pinkie Pie was forced to unfortunately take advantage of. "N-nothing. It was just kinda… cold outside, and the chill just caught up with me, I guess" Pinkie lied, immediately drawing Applejack's attention.

Thankfully, this response was sufficient to avoid any unwanted attention as Celestia replied "Ah… Well then, you may find many hot meals being prepared in the kitchen, and I'll have them delivered to you in the library".

"Ooh, Yum! Thanks so much, um… your ladyship?" Pinkie stumbled before finishing her sentence to judge how she would address somepony of Celestia's authority. Celestia herself merely blushed in amusement and assured "Oh, that's alright, Miss Pie. You can call me Celestia".

Pinkie sighed in relief as Twilight quickly intervened and warned the duo "You two should get to the library quickly, before your food gets cold".

Because of this, Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked at eachother mischievously before quickly making their way to the aforementioned library, while Twilight accompanied her tutor to the conservatory to converse. Suddenly they stopped and looked towards eachother in confusion, before calling out, "Um… which way's the library again?"

* * *

Several moments and directions later, the pair had finally arrived at the main door to the library. Even as she came closer to the door, the pair could smell the delicious scent of various meals and treats, exciting the ponies to the verge of salivation. Without a moment to lose, they burst through the door and made their way inside, delighted by the sight that lay before them.

Along the central table lay a series of prepared pastries and beverages for the princess's guests to consume during their stay. Without even a glace or a word to be said, the pair immediately seated themselves and began their feast.

Half an hour later, the table had been cleared of its contents, whether beverage, pastry or otherwise. A pie tin and several plates littered with various crumbs were spread across the wooden expanse, while several glasses and bottles had been emptied of their contents. As for the guests, they had retired to a pair of luxurious sofas to rest on, contently overfed from their feast.

Applejack had already fallen asleep on her back with her head against the armrest, a bottle of cider balancing sideways on her slightly distended girth. Pinkie Pie, in the meantime, was still awake, though her eyes began to droop as she yawned to herself.

She looked towards the window and found the night sky, the last sight she saw before she fell asleep.

 **To be continued…**


	14. Conquering the Odds Part 2

**MLP: Conquering the Odds. Part 2**

Almost three hours had passed since the pair fell asleep, and the sky shifted into a black void that shrouded the land. As she snored ungraciously to herself, Applejack lounged on a luxuriously stylized sofa, before she began awakening to the sight of the night sky. She sat up and stretched her arms as she yawned, before muttering "Night time already? How long have I been asleep?"

She stepped off the sofa and asked sleepily "Hey Pinkie Pie… Are you awake?" before gazing around the spacious library. She immediately felt adrenaline when she realized that Pinkie wasn't anywhere in the room.

"Pinkie Pie!?" Applejack called out into the room, "Are you still in here?!"

As she suspected, there was no answer, meaning Pinkie Pie was possibly somewhere else in Canterlot, though her current activities remained unknown.

She left the library and trotted her way through the hallway, the stars of the night sky glinting against the tiled floors. She turned the corner and continued to thoroughly search every hall in the hopes of finding her pink companion, unfortunately to no avail.

However, finally, she happened across a patrolling suitors pony and approached him, the suitor stopping to listen.

"Excuse me?" she greeted, the suitor replying "Yes, miss Applejack". Pleased that the suitor recognised her, she explained "My friend's somewhere in Canterlot and I can't find her. Have ya seen her around?" The suitor replied "If you're referring to Miss Pie, then yes I have. I was just heading to her Highness's private suite to inform her of Miss Pie".

Applejack's ears fell as she questioned "What's happened? What is she doing?" The Suitor replied "Miss Pie is currently trespassing the royal dressing room, and appears to have been conversing aloud to herself". Applejack immediately ran passed the suitor and made her way to the dressing room, while the suitor continued his way to the Princess' abode.

* * *

Applejack wasted as little time as she could and ran swiftly through halls and around corners, before finally making spotting the door to the dressing room at the end of a corridor.

She stopped and stealthily crept up to the door, leaning her head against the frame and listening carefully.

"…hy did you come back _now_?!" echoed faintly from within, confirming Applejack's suspicions. Against her better judgement, she carefully opened the door and looked inside, and was greeted with an ominous sight.

Pinkie Pie could immediately be seen as the door creaked open, stumbling and staggering around the room as she screamed to herself. The walls was entirely aligned along the walls and cast multiple different reflections of her. Realising that Pinkamena could see the reflection of her in the mirror opposite to the door, she carefully closed the door shut and continued to listen in.

"What will it take to stop you, Pinkamena?" Pinkie screamed openly, startling Applejack with the sharp tone of her voice. "For the last time, I'm telling you not to trust them!" spoke a second voice, and Applejack immediately became evermore fearful.

"Will nothing convince you?! … I've been telling you from the beginning! It's all just a trick! … My friends love me, and you can't convince me otherwise! … They hate you! … THEN WHY AM I STILL HERE?! … THEY ONLY HELPED YOU TO KEEP TOYING WITH YOU! SICK CREATURES! … SHUT UUUUUP!"

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the hallway, frightening Applejack to death and convincing her to finally enter the room. She quickly opened the door and stepped into the room to observe the situation, though Pinkie Pie was preoccupied to notice and continued her argument against her sinister shadow.

"I've been telling you for so long! I don't need you! I have real friends now! … They're just using you! You just can't see how evil they really are! … I hate you! … Don't say that! … I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU! … STOP YELLING! … You are cruel and violent! You are insane, delusional and wrapped up in your own selfishness!"

The pink psychopath fell silent as she said this, before Pinkamena questioned " _I'm_ selfish?" She tensed with rage as she yelled "I gave you everything I could to you, Pinkie Pie! EVERYTHING! … I didn't mean that. … And how did you repay me?! … Please. … You abandoned me! … Stop. … YOU LEFT ME TO ROT SO _YOU_ COULD BE HAPPY!"

Suddenly, Pinkamena turned to the door and noticed Applejack, standing is shock of what she had seen. Before she could react, at almost anomalous speed, Pinkamena a rushed up towards Applejack and tackled to the floor. Applejack landed painfully as the back of her head collided with the tiled floor, instantly sending her into a daze.

"I should have known somepony was watching us. … Pinkame- … SHUT UP! I'M DONE WITH YOU! I'M FINISHING THEM ALL OFF, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!" Pinkamena shouted at the top of her lungs. Applejack turned her head as she lay in the doorway, and saw a purple blur growing larger from within the hallway.

"I've had enough of you siding with them! … Pinka- … Shut up! Let me do my… m- my…" Pinkamena ranted before finding herself unable to finish her sentence, a wave of exhaustion fell upon her and she struggled to stand, sending her stumbling around in the hallway. She looked towards the source and found twilight, her horn glowing as her face expressed great surprise.

"No. She's… gonna…" were Pinkamena's final words before she finally collapsed to the floor, lost in a deep sleep. With the immediate threat neutralized, Twilight ran to Applejack and lifted her from the floor. "Applejack, are you okay?" She questioned, the southerner struggling to answer.

* * *

After several moments, Applejack recovered from her daze and explained the whole ordeal to the unicorn. "So Pinkamena stopped listening to Pinkie Pie?!" Twilight asked worriedly, and Applejack merely nodded. They glanced towards their sleeping colleague and Twilight admitted "I hope Pinkamena still likes Pinkie Pie at all… Otherwise this can be _really_ bad".

The pair left the dressing room and stopped beside Pinkie Pie, Twilight lifting her with a levitation spell and preparing to take her back to the library. Before they could however, they were stopped by the sound of approaching hoofsteps.

"What in the name of Equestria is going on in there?"

A feminine voice, followed by the elongating cast of a shadow on the tiles at the end of the hallway, made the pair of ponies become suddenly nervous. From around the corner, Princess Celestia was approaching to investigate the situation, likely from the suitor Applejack met earlier.

"What are we gonna tell her?" Applejack asked, though Twilight was quick to answer with "We tell her the truth". Finally, Celestia rounded the corner and approached the dressing room door, exclaiming "Twilight, Is Pinkie Pie still in the dre-". Celestia's question was silenced as she looked upon the scene with surprise.

She saw Pinkie Pie, lying unconscious on the floor, and immediately asked "Twilight, what happened?!" Twilight bowed respectably and answered "Forgive me, your highness, but allow me to explain", and Celestia became intent to listen.

"Pinkie Pie has been suffering… mental problems recently… and I've been trying to help her" Twilight explained. She turned back to Pinkie who was now in the arms of Applejack, her head against the southerner's abdomen as she snored softly. Celestia turned back to Twilight and offered an expression of confusion.

"Why didn't you tell me about this, Twily?" the Princess questioned as concern seeped into her voice, "I could have helped her much earlier". Twilight squirmed as her confidence degraded, answering "They hadn't been such a problem… until now". Celestia shook her head in disapproval as her horn began glowing with a golden light.

Before the pair, Pinkie's limp body began levitating and was carried to the Princess's side, as she announced "We shall take her to my suite". She turned and began to make her way back to the master bedroom, the others following from behind as she concluded "Let me see what I can do to help her".

Upon arriving, the royal alicorn stepped into her bedroom, her pupil and her friends following after her as stopped beside her bed. She cautiously lay Pinkie Pie on the closest end of her bed, allowing the tormented pony whatever comfort it could provide. Soon, the princess turned to Twilight and asked "What kind of mental problems is she having?", though Twilight was stuck deciding how to explain it.

"Well… uh…" she began, "She's been hearing voices in her head… and it's been stressing her out". "Voices in her head?" Celestia repeated as she watched Pinkie Pie sleep peacefully, "In _that_ case, I should read her mind and find the source of it".

If Applejack was nervous about this plan, then Twilight was practically petrified with fear, and expressed such as she abruptly blurted out "Are you sure that's a good… idea?"

Celestia faced her pupil and asked "Do you doubt my efforts, Twilight?" with genuine curiosity, Twilight's mouth falling agape in surprise as she answered "No… it's just…". Twilight was on the spot, and quickly made up an excuse for her behavior, "It's just… she my friend. And I would… would hate for…".

Celestia hushed her pupil and reassured "Do not worry yourself. Pinkie Pie won't be harmed". Soon, the Princess's horn glowed and her eyes shut, her vision becoming enveloped in darkness as she cast her spell.

* * *

She delved deep into Pinkie's unstable subconscious and immediately sensed a disturbance, as she heard faint echoes of voices emanating within this mind. "…can't believe you'd act that way to me. … I've had enough of you not listening to me, cherub. It's really making me angry. … Do you hate me? … What?! No! Of course not! I don't hate you… You just… made me angry that one time".

Celestia was astonished by this discovery, and she thought to herself "That's not just a voice… That's a whole other personality! A _split_ personality!" As soon as she could, she ceased casting her spell and disappeared from the deranged realm.

"Cherub… did you hear something?"

* * *

The alicorn's eyes snapped open and she immediate exclaimed "Twilight! Why didn't you tell me that she had a split personality?!" Twilight focused her attention on her teacher and stepped back in fright from this outburst, though she hadn't the need to answer.

Celestia sighed and wiped her brow, before explaining "In all my years, I've never encountered a split personality before. This will be trickier than I thought". "I have faith in you, your ladyship" Twilight assured, "Let me know if you need help". With this said, Celestia delve back into Pinkie's mind as she grimaced "What madness will you offer, Pinkie Pie?"

* * *

The moment she re-entered the pony's mind, she began searching the vast ocean of thoughts. She could sense her imagination, and all fictional creations this mind had provided, along with her memories of her past experiences. Suddenly, she could hear the two voices conversing from somewhere in this space, including the one voice the alicorn hadn't recognised.

"…ounded like… the Princess. … Princess? I've never heard about any princess. … She's got magic powers and is Twilight's teacher. … And you think you heard her voice? … Well, yes. … You don't think she's… in our mind, do you?" beckoned the two voices. "Yes. I am, Pinkie Pie" Celestia whispered into the void of the extrovert's subconscious, "I am reading your mind as you sleep".

"What! Why would you do that?!" Pinkie suddenly objected. Celestia answered "In know you have a split personality. I'm trying to search your mind for a way to remove it" as she continued through the streams of Pinkie Pie's consciousness.

"Great. Yet another phony who's taking advantage of us, Pinkie Pie. … Pinkamena! … She can go right ahead, cherub. I want her to prove me right!" Pinkamena exclaimed.

"I've never heard anything like this before" Celestia admitted, "This… Pinkamena girl. How long have you had her?"

Pinkie answered reluctantly "Since my fillyhood".

"Your fillyhood?! All that time?!" Celestia questioned in amazement, "Then I must search you memories".

"NO! PLEASE!" Pinkie suddenly screamed, her voice echoing loudly throughout the space. Startled, Celestia asked calmly "What's the matter, Miss Pie? Don't you want to have to have your mental problems cleansed?"

Pinkie Pie was silent, but answered nervously "It's just that… I have… secrets". Celestia could sense the sheer terror in her voice, and became fearful that she could cause more problems for this young pony than she would otherwise solve. But soon enough, she decided to offers reassurance.

"I promise, your secrets will be safe with me".

Princess Celestia had begun gathering Pinkie Pie's memories in order to examine them, ordering them appropriately for preparation. However as she did this, Pinkie and Pinkamena were forced to await her progress, incapable of preventing or even witnessing her actions.

"I can see your fillyhood memories" Celestia stated, her voice echoing suddenly within the void. Pinkie Pie was the first to answer and said "I… I prefer to keep my fillyhood… a secret. But… I trust you, your ladyship". Pinkamena, on the other hand, was not convinced, "Cherub, you better be ready for when this lying _hag_ reveals them to everypony".

Celestia had to restrain her outrage from this use of slang, as it would potentially prove catastrophic for any positive results of this study. Finally, she had selected a memory and viewed it, finding Pinkie Pie sitting beneath an old, withered tree. "Celestia's heart ached as she could hear the sounds of sobbing, "I had no idea that you had such a sad life".

"Blame our family for that" Pinkamena sneered suddenly, "Especially our parents. … I loved my mom and dad! … They were horrible! Stop lying to yourself". Finally fed up with Pinkie Pie neglecting her, out of spite, Pinkamena decided to remind Pinkie of the truth.

"Hey, princess! I think I know what you wanna see".

* * *

Suddenly, Celestia found herself a witness to a specific memory. "What is this?" She questioned as she concentrated on it, watching as it began to take shape.

Soon it resembled the inside of an old farmhouse, and a young pink filly setting up decorations. Upon further inspection, the filly girl could be heard talking to herself, astounding Celestia with their conversation.

"The two of you used to be friends?" The princess inquired, and Pinkamena was quick to reply "I was an… ugh… imaginary friend back then. I came back as a split personality a couple of months ago". Celestia was fascinated by this entire situation, but soon focused on the memory and listen as the young Pinkie Pie conversed.

"Pinkie Pie? … Yes? … Are you sure this is going to work? … What? Pinkamena, I would give anything for a party and to have fun. Why shouldn't _they_? … Well, it's not because I find them boring, which they _are_ ; but they just seem so… distant. … Distant? … They don't really seem to care about… anything, really. Not even _us_ ".

The young filly continued to converse with herself in her high-pitched filly voice. "I love my family! … Your family sucks! … What are you talking about?! … These are the worst folks anypony could ever have! … Well, we can make them _better_!" Pinkie smiled proudly.

Just then, the door was unlocked and slowly opened. Pinkie Pie stared intensely as the door creaked opened, revealing an elder pony couple and her siblings, Quartz and Limestone. Upon examining the room, the relatives stopped and stared in surprise at the current state of their house, all while the constructor waited anxiously for some form of approval.

Her dad then fixed her eyes upon her asked "What is all of _this_ , then?" in a rather stern tone. "While you were out, I set up a party for when you came back! Do you like it?" She squealed with joy, truly proud of her labors.

"My blankets!"

All attention was quickly focused upon the mother, who held onto a streamer; "You ripped up our blankets to make streamers!?" A shocked Pinkie replied "J-just the ones you d-don't use" in an attempt to defend her honor. "Look at all of this food! How are we gonna eat it all?! It's all gonna go bad now!" shrieked Limestone, as she threw her arms in the air for emphasis on the severity of her question.

Her father hung his head and grunted in disapproval, scaring the observing Pinkie into backing away. "Pinkie Pie, go to your room; now!" he growled maliciously, resulting in his daughter's eyes to begin welling with tears. She quivered in fear before wailing "Dad, please! It's not that bad! Just try the-".

"GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!" The father yelled loud enough for his fury to echo throughout the room. Pinkie Pie ran to her father and held him by his leg, pleading "Dad! I made all of this for you! For once, have some fun!" before slapping her mouth shut. Unfortunately, it was too late; what'd been said had been said, and her father boiled with overwhelming rage from this unintentional insult.

Her father twisted his neck in preparation and it emitted a loud _'Crack!',_ immediately signaling a sinister method of punishing his daughter. Pinkie Pie cowered before her father as his temper slowly dwindled; until finally, only irrational thinking dwelled within his mentality. The last sound that Pinkie could remember was a loud _'WHACK!'_

* * *

Instantly, Celestia had ceased casting her spell and found herself back in the real world, stumbling backwards in shock from what she had just witnessed. "What in Equestria did I just see?!" She exclaimed loudly, puffing heavily from her surprise and trying to steady her breathing.

"What is it?! What happened?!" she heard a voice beside her, and turned to find Twilight with concern in her eyes. The princess straitened her posture and sighed "It's fine. I've met Pinkamena, and have found what could be the source of the split personality". Twilight was no less than delighted as she asked "Really?! What is it?!"

As she was about to answer, she looked down towards Pinkie Pie and remembered what she had said to her. "Sorry, Twily" the alicorn began with her unmistakable nobility, "But I promised Pinkie Pie to keep it secret". She then turned back to her pupil and explained "Which is why she will be staying here with _me_ for the night".

She then approached the bed and threw the covers over Pinkie Pie's body, before explaining "I'll speak to her in the morning and tell about the new arrangements I'll make for her". Twilight simply nodded in agreement, knowing that Celestia's aid in this matter would prove to be extremely helpful.

* * *

Eventually, Applejack and Twilight were shown to the front entrance of Canterlot, the night sky shrouding the yonder pathway to Ponyville in darkness. "We should be fine to get home" Applejack assured, to which Twilight nodded in agreement. "Now don't worry about Pinkie Pie. You can come visit her tomorrow morning" Celestia offered.

The trio bid their farewells to eachother and the pair of young ponies made their wade back to Ponyville, all while Celestia made her way back to her bedroom. She approached her bed and watched the sleeping occupant, before stroking her hair lovingly.

"I'm gonna get you through this, Pinkie Pie. I can promise you _that_ too".

 **The End?**


	15. A Blessing in Disguise Part 1

**MLP: A Blessing in Disguise. Part 1**

It was noon for the inhabitants of Equestria. All was incredibly quiet for the duration of the morning, and it was widely speculated by many that the afternoon would be greatly identical. However, while the rest of Equestria nurtured itself with relaxation, such could not be said for the halls of Canterlot, which found themselves under the corruption of a truly grim atmosphere.

Ever since the events that occurred within the enchanted halls from the previous night, the regal Princess Celestia had taken it upon herself to personally aid the dismayed Pinkie Pie in her pledge for peace.

As of the next morning, Pinkie had remained within the Master Bedroom for the night and Celestia had kept watch over her.

In the meantime, Twilight had returned to Ponyville and set about telling Maud the devastating news. Maud, petrified for her sister's health, accompanied Twilight as they journeyed for the castle to visit her. Along the way, they happened across the southern fruit-herder Applejack, who had similar intentions and decided to join the group.

As they made their way, Maud said "I wish somepony had told me that you all had left for this 'Canterlot' place". "We were in a bit of a hurry" Twilight admitted, "So yeah, sorry for the surprise".

* * *

As they continued to Canterlot, Pinkie Pie was preparing for her first in a series of scheduled sessions with the princess.

"Just… _please…_ don't read my mind again" Pinkie requested in a meek manner, to which Celestia assured "Don't worry, Miss Pie. I would never do that to you". Pinkie Pie sat on a prepared sofa and relaxed, allowing a sense of relief to finally spread through her agitated muscles. She breathed steadily as her eyes slowly closed shut, allowing for the first time she had properly relaxed in a long while.

Celestia cleared her throat in preparation and instructed in a hushed, nurturing tone "Now… I need you to stay still for this, Pinkie Pie"; Celestia finally focused her line of sight upon her client and added "…so you can fall asleep". Out of a sudden sense of curiosity, Pinkie reopened her strained eyes and asked "Fall asleep? Why?"

"This is a spell that, I think, might help you. With it, your dreams will become entirely lucid for a time" Celestia explained, "And I need you to describe your dreams to me once you awaken". Reluctant, though relatively curious, Pinkie Pie leaned back in her seat and sighed in relaxation, allowing the spell to finally take place.

As soon as she shut her eyes, she lost any and all physical connections to the rest of her body.

* * *

Upon reopening her eyes after a prolonged amount of time, Pinkie Pie found herself sitting in a small, white room. She remained motionless without any sign of movement, laying in complete silence. She shifted her gaze throughout the room, finding no windows, doors or any form of furniture in view, as well as the fact that the walls were coated in a strange, cautioning material.

Pinkie Pie attempted to stand, but found that her front legs were constricted by a foreign force; and once she stared down, the source of this immobilization became clear.

She was bound in a straitjacket.

From the revelation, Pinkie Pie began to panic as she thrashed about in an attempt to pull her legs free of their bindings; unfortunately, this was to no avail. "Where am I?!" she cried out in despair, "Anypony! Can anypony here me?! HELP ME!" No answer from any form of outside world could be heard, concluding the mystery of her solitude indefinitely.

After a few minutes of silence, Pinkie Pie trembled in resignation as she shifted into the corner of the room. She stared downwards towards her restrained limbs as a single tear fell upon one of the multiple leather belts. By this time, she had practically forgotten about the spell and succumb to the bleak atmosphere of this conjured environment.

"Still a mess, isn't she? No surprise, really…" a voice echoed within the room, instantly catching Pinkie Pie's attention from her state of despair. She searched the room desperately in search of the source, soon turning to her left to find a familiar unicorn leaning against the wall beside her.

However, when Pinkie Pie attempted to scream "Twilight!" with joy, she discovered that she couldn't hear her own voice, having found herself mute upon attempting to speak. Twilight failed to notice Pinkie Pie beside her as she continued "She's still suffering from her split personality, and everypony wants to help; and yet, she _still_ won't answer any questions. Her family, running away from home…".

Soon, the mood became sour as Twilight then lectured "Never a kind word for _my_ efforts! Don't _I_ deserve some credit?! Without me, she and all of her friends would never have figured any of this out!"

Pinkie Pie refused to listen to this, as she began shaking her head violently to banish these thoughts.

However, once she looked up again, she found that Twilight had disappeared from the room, only to be replaced with the figure of Maud Pie sitting to her left.

Pinkie Pie reluctantly listened as Maud began "Me and Mom always knew it, Pinkie Pie! You were always such a miserable excuse for a sister; too content to pretend to have things that you couldn't actually get. As if you could ever be _truly_ happy with creating a second world for yourself to enjoy, while the rest of us are left to slave away around you!"

Tears had begun to reemerge from Pinkie's eyes from these accusations, and she looked away from Maud in disgust, only to find a less reputable figure to her right.

None other than the nefarious horror Pinkamena leaned comfortably against the cushioning as she snidely remarked "Is everything truly clear for you, Pinkie Pie? Am I really just some villain for you and your friends to beat? Am I not to be honored and respected like Maud or Twilight?"

Pinkie Pie clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tightly, but Pinkamena continued "For me, it's only a few moments to be around before I'm lost in limbo again. I have desires, intentions, and my own intellect; and yet, I'm still just pushed aside as a mere delusion".

By this time, Pinkie Pie had succumbed to this torture and would willingly listen to these disturbing statements, before she suddenly noticed a strange feeling course through her body. The world around her soon began glowing evermore bright, before finally blurring into a single colour.

* * *

Pinkie Pie laid her hoof upon the left side of her forehead and grunted in pain; "Pinkamena! Stop! Please!"

Celestia's eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed "That's not right! That's not meant to happen! What's _she_ doing there?!" Pinkie began panicking as she tossed fitfully on the couch, eventually enough for her to roll off the side.

With a loud _'Thump!'_ , she fell upon the floor, shivering and twitching into unnatural positions. Celestia quickly arose from her seat and her horn ceased glowing, thus breaking the enchantment and freeing her patient from this inescapable nightmare.

Pinkie's eyes shot open as the spell was broken, before falling to the floor and sighing in despair. As Pinkie gasped for air, she turned to face the Princess and cried "Don't do that to me again, please!", her eyes pooling with terror.

Celestia sat beside the shuddering Pinkie Pie, who sat against the sofa with her arms wrapped around her legs, before she lay her hoof under Pinkie's chin and lifted her head to meet her gaze. "Forgive me. I never expected that to happen" she admitted to her cowering client, "Though I suppose our first session has come to a conclusion".

As this happened, the door suddenly burst open, revealing a terrified trio of ponies stumbling hastily into the room. "PINKIE PIE!" Maud called out in fright, before running to her stricken sister and hugging her tightly.

Without questioning the fact that the trio had been eavesdropping against her instructions, Celestia explained "Don't worry, Maud. Pinkie Pie is just fine. She is free to return home for today". Relieved by this, all four younglings bid their farewells to the princess and journeyed to the main gate, and soon to Pinkie and Maud's home for the pair to properly reunite.

* * *

By the time they had finally returned back to Sugarcube Corner, the sky had become a blackening field of stars and Twilight had already parted ways.

As they came to the door, however, they found that somepony had apparently been expecting them, as a lone figure was currently leaning against their front door. As they curiously, and cautiously, approached the figure, they found it to be their overly sanitary associate.

"Rarity? What's going on?" Pinkie asked aloud; Rarity was clearly unfocused, ignoring this greeting and continuing to think to herself. "Hey Rarity!" Maud Pie called out to her, finally drawing her attention from whatever thought had crossed her mind as she finally looked towards them.

"Oh! Hey, you two!" she quickly called out in hesitation to greet them, considering the reputation that such an upper-class figure must uphold. Rarity stepped away from the doorway and swiftly made her way to the duo to converse the situation.

"What going on? What are you doing here?" Pinkie asked curiously, to which Rarity began explaining her case. "Listen, I…" she began before pausing, possibly to find the right words to say, "I'm gonna head out of town for a few days… So, I need my sister to stay somewhere while I'm gone".

While Maud had not known Rarity long enough to understand her claim, Pinkie's memory reflected back to memories of Rarity's sister, namely Sweetie Belle. While not acquainting with her directly, Pinkie had been told on multiple occasions of her skills, especially her supposed 'singing prowess'.

"Well, I've never seen your sister… but I can- urk!" Pinkie then pressed her hoof against her temple and groaned in discomfort.

Both Maud and Rarity were truly surprised by this action, as Pinkie Pie had shown no sign of anxiety nor trauma thus far. Maud asked worriedly "Pinkie Pie?! What's wrong!?" only for Pinkie Pie's sudden headache to quickly cease.

After the throbbing pain subsided, Pinkie grunted in disapproval "Ugh! I'm not that big of a timebomb, you idiots! Would you just-!" before covering her mouth in surprise of her own outburst. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say that!" she blabbered in a flustered panic, hoping to redeem herself of any act of malice that she may have committed.

Whilst Pinkie Pie was distracted by her self-invoked panic, a lone figure stepped quietly into view of the door, shyly peeking out from behind the defense of the wooden structure. Rarity looked behind her and saw this figure, calling "Hey, Sweetie! Come out here!" in a cheerful tone.

The figure sauntered through the doorway and revealed herself to be the aforementioned sibling, who smiled shyly, "Hey there, Pinkie Pie". Rarity then fixed her gaze upon Maud and explained "Look, I wouldn't have had you do this for me, but I thought that two ponies would be better to look after her".

Rarity possibly mentioned this in order to assure the duo of her consideration in this matter, having decided the best course of action for her younger sibling. However, as Maud became aware of such consideration and respected it, Pinkie Pie remained skeptical of this decision and desperately wished to object to it; but to avoid any further grief upon the situation she had found herself in, she decided against it.

"Don't worry, Rarity. We'll take care of her" Maud assured, resulting in an appreciative smile from the former. Rarity then looked through the window to the living room and gazed upon the clock, which currently chimed 8:00.

"Ack! I'm already late for the train! I gotta go! Bye!" Rarity yelled in a panic. Pinkie Pie turned to say goodbye, but Rarity had already disappeared into the streets, unfortunately neglecting the trio in their endeavor to bid her farewell.

Maud Pie, Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle all entered the abode at once as Sweetie whistled to herself gleefully. Pinkie Pie suddenly felt a sensation of drowsiness wash over her, diminishing her senses for a short period of time. She stumbled forward clumsily as her eyes shut wearily, before regaining her sense of oncoming danger and quickly stabilizing herself.

"I'm sorry… Maud… I'm too tired. I'm off to bed" she muttered sleepily before trudging her way upstairs to her bedroom, neglecting to see if either of the duo had heard her.

* * *

As night had finally settled upon the world, the night itself was relatively peaceful for a majority of its passing. After Pinkie Pie had resigned herself to fatigue and ended up spending little more than an hour in a deep slumber, Maud had spent the night looking after Sweetie Belle for her.

However, while Pinkie Pie was resting peacefully at the stroke of 9:00, she was suddenly awoken by the sound of a loud, metallic clatter. She began squirming under her sheets as she stirred into consciousness, groggily lifting her head from the pillow and lazily opening a single eye.

"Gergh…what was…?" she muttered unintelligibly before stretching her arms above her and dropping from the bed.

As she made her way down the stairs, she then heard the sounds of laughter. She stopped halfway down the staircase and listened carefully to the voices that conversed within the kitchen. The high pitch of the voices indicated that they were no more than fillies, but none of the voices were recognizable to her.

As she continued her stagger her way to the first floor, she turned the corner to find an unexpected sight.

Three fillies were in her kitchen, one of which being Sweetie Belle, though the others' identities could not be categorized within her previous affiliations. As they continued to chat amongst themselves, Maud entered through the living room to find Pinkie Pie, gasping in surprise and exclaiming "Pinkie Pie! I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to wake you up!"

From this sudden, loud apology, the attention to their conversation was broken as the three fillies peered towards their half-asleep observer. "What are you all doing here?" Pinkie asked in confusion, to which the three minors looked at eachother sheepishly. Sweetie Belle then stepped forward and explained "Well… I… invited them over".

Pinkie Pie sighed in relief and replied "Oh… Okay. But can you please be a little bit more quiet?" before turning to return to her personal boudoir. Before she could, though, an orange filly stepped forward and asked "Hey, uh… Pinkie Pie?" Pinkie stopped to listen, turning her head to reveal an expression of quizzical curiosity.

"Do you have a split perso- pers- personal-ity?"

From this broken pronunciation of words, an unsettling atmosphere engulfed the house, and all that dwelled within it. A bitter chill had spread through Pinkie Pie's muscles from this rather simple question; simple, and yet questionable in itself. Pinkie Pie's heart had increased in pace as she trembled nervously, before asking "Who… who told you… about that?"

Scootaloo stepped backwards nervously and answered "It was… Spike. He said that you had some kind of problem with your hea-" before covering her mouth suddenly, as if such an action would undo her statement.

From this unmasking of the informant, Pinkie Pie shut her eyes tightly and tensed in frustration. She understood that Spike was on the more naïve or gullible side, but without a just reason to expose such an important secret to others, Spike must've done it on purpose.

Pinkie Pie gritted her teeth in rage as her hair began lowering over her head, as her pupils had begun shrinking to an unnatural size. As soon as Maud realized what was happening to her sister from these signs, she leapt in front of her and violently shook her from her alternate state of being, screaming "Hey! Pinkie Pie! PINKIE PIE!"

Pinkie Pie shook her head as she finally returned to reality, her eyes and hair returning to their original appearance. She knew clearly of what almost happened, and was quick to attempt avoiding any direct conversation before such a situation could occur again, but with more successful outcomes for the sinister anomaly behind it.

Without another word, Pinkie Pie ran up the stairs and confined herself within her bedroom, without as much as a word spoken to those that witnessed it.

Scootaloo gulped and muttered "Sorry… I didn't mean to… insult her or anything!" drawing Maud's attention to the flustered filly. "Hey, Hey! Don't worry about it; you haven't insulted anypony here!" Maud reassured, before considering the situation and lamenting "All the same, though… that's a pretty touchy subject".

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the group below, Pinkie Pie didn't return to her slumber as they had assumed, and instead sat quietly in a pool of despair. Ponies are starting to learn about her secret, and this fact alone had brought a shattering pain to her heart. And soon enough, she had begun considering the inevitable questions to ponder.

If those fillies knew about it, does anypony else know it too?

 **To be continued…**


	16. A Blessing in Disguise Part 2

**MLP: A Blessing in Disguise. Part 2**

"What!? So _she's_ Pinkamena!?"

Applebloom stared towards the ceiling, towards Pinkie Pie's current location, before muttering "I've seen Pinkamena before, but I had no idea".

Maud sighed and continued her explanation, "Yeah. But that's what's going on with Pinkie Pie. Sometimes she'll be herself, bot other times she'll be Pinkamena. My sister has been put through a lot of problems because of Pinkamena, and I wish I could hate Pinkamena for it, but I can't. Pinkamena hates us all and she wants to-".

"Alright! We get the picture! Sometimes she's good, sometimes she's bad!" Scootaloo exclaimed abruptly. Maud fixed her gaze on Scootaloo in disapproval and lectured "No, she's not _just_ bad. If you ever see her as Pinkamena, you stay away! Understand?"

The three frightened fillies nodded in agreement, before Maud nodded in approval in return. "Good. Now, you can all sleep in the lounge room. As soon as I go, I want you to all be asleep. Got It?" Maud commanded, the which the fillies nodded in unison. Satisfied by this, Maud turned to leave.

However, as soon as she had resigned herself to her bedroom and left the fillies to their own devices, they gathered together to contemplate their newly gathered knowledge. "She has two minds in one body? That sounds so cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed in excitement. Sweetie Belle then objected "Are you joking, Scoot?! After what her sister just said, you think it's funny!?"

Applebloom then through her two cents into the conversation and admitted "When I saw Pinkamena, it was pretty scary. I had no idea what she was gonna do". Scootaloo then rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on! Just cuz she's got two minds doesn't mean one of them is gonna be bad". Despite this speculation, Sweetie Belle still heeded Maud's advice and wanted no part in where this would lead.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. Let's go meet her!"

"Have you gone loony, Scoot!? She might hurt us!" Sweetie Belle objected once again, still remaining open-minded of whether Maud's explanation of this phenomenon was indeed accurate. From this plea for logical thinking, Scootaloo and Applebloom glared mischievously at eachother, before returning their focus to the worried Sweetie Belle. "Well, _I'm_ not worried. Cuz _you're_ gonna wake her up!"

"What!? No way; I don't want to! She'll get mad!" Sweetie screamed without consideration, before covering her mouth in fear of having already accomplished her involuntarily assigned objective. The trio looked up towards the ceiling and concentrated on hearing for any noise; though such was thankfully not the case.

"Ugh! You two are such wusses. Well if you're so scared, _I'll_ wake her up". Unfortunately, despite her reluctance to place herself in such a lethal position, Sweetie Belle's dignity had suddenly found itself in peril at the risk of disrespect.

"Hey! I'm not a wuss, you meanie!" she snarled ungraciously. Scootaloo smirked triumphantly before replying "Then I dare you to wake her up". From this malevolent statement, Sweetie was in a dilemma of her own; and within her mind, she pondered "Their testing me! If I don't do it, they'll think I'm a coward. So I _have_ to do it!"

Due to her rather upper-class upbringing alongside her sister, Sweetie Belle had adopted a fear of disrespect from others, and was therefore equally reluctant to disappoint them, even if for the right reasons.

* * *

Sweetie Belle slowly crept her way up the stairs and eventually stopped behind the door to Pinkie Pie's bedroom. As she leaned her ear against the wooden frame, she could hear the unintelligible grunts and screeches of a disturbed sleeper, which had reanimated the fear within Sweetie Belle's soul. Nevertheless, she still had her reputation to uphold to her friends, as well as a promise to keep.

She silently pushed the door open and peeked her head out from behind her predictably unreliable excuse for a shield, finding a frantically tossing and turning Pinkie Pie within her view, twitching as she slumbered and occasionally giggling fitfully. Sweetie Belle, with the courage of more than most ponies twice her age, stepped beside Pinkie's bed and leaned upon it.

"Um… hello? Uh… Pinkie Pie…?" She began with a whisper, only for a strained grunt to be Pinkie's response. She gently shoved Pinkie's arm and repeated herself, "Hey… Pinkie Pie… or Pinkamena… wake up".

Sweetie Belle's heart was racing beyond its natural, or healthy, rate by this time, as if she had been caught committing theft for the first time. She built up her voice for her third attempt and exclaimed "Hey, wake up!" more loudly than she had intended.

From this, Pinkie Pie stirred into consciousness as she leaned herself upright from her pillow and turned her head downwards towards her awakener, opening her eyes and fixing a cold stare upon her.

Success, but at what cost.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

Sweetie Belle was utterly petrified by this time. She couldn't move a single muscle, even though her life possibly depended on it, and was frozen to the core with overwhelming terror. She trembled before her accomplishments and was in dire peril of what consequences lay in store.

Pinkamena slowly stepped towards the terrified minor as she had begun shedding tears, before stopping in front of her and glaring down into her tear-stained eyes.

"I'll take it that _you_ were the one that woke me up?" Pinkamena sternly snarled, to which Sweetie Belle could barely answer. All that she could achieve as a response was a simple, fearful nod, before she lowered her head and sulked to herself, preparing herself for the punishments of her actions. Pinkamena then smiled mischievously and replied "I thought so".

"Please… don't hurt me…"

This pitiful plea for mercy towards such a villainous being brought a smile to Pinkamena's face; but surprisingly, without any malicious intent, she lifted the filly's head and both were fixed upon eachother's gaze. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Whoever told you that?" Pinkamena asked in a hushed, almost motherly tone. Sweetie Belle then shrank into herself and stuttered "M-Maud said that your b-bad".

Pinkamena furrowed her brow and sternly muttered to herself "I hate you, Maud… still giving me a bad reputation!" before kneeling down to equal herself to the filly's current height. "Listen to me" she explained in a soothing whisper, "I won't hurt you, or your friends". She lay her hoof upon Sweetie Belle's shoulder for reassurance of her intentions, "I don't know what Maud said about me, but it's not true".

Pinkamena then proceeded to explain herself to the young filly, though whether her description of herself was accurate or merely a guise remained a mystery to the minor. Pinkamena advertised herself rather than being a violent, manipulative opportunist; but instead, as a considerate, compassionate bystander.

However, while her silver tongue was swift and cunning, the words that she spoke and the way she spoke it were so convincing, that even Pinkamena herself almost believed them to be the truth. Pinkamena was rarely considerate of her actions or the motives behind them, which would often blur the line between her honest intentions and mere irrational impulses.

Eventually, their discussion was interrupted by an echo that emitted through the room; distinguishable as a low, gurgling sound. Sweetie Belle held her stomach in pain and winced "Oh! I haven't eaten anything yet!"

Pinkamena pulled her head back and stared downward at this act, before concocting a plan and smiling deviously. "Are you hungry?" Pinkamena asked with seemingly genuine interest, before helping the filly to her hooves, "Come downstairs, I'll get you something".

* * *

Once in the kitchen, Pinkamena began shifting through the fridge for the appropriate snack for this houseguest, before poking her head from behind the fridge door and waving Sweetie Belle over to her side. Sweetie belle, for her part, peered into the fridge to find an unbelievable sight; an over-abundance of pastries and candy, each as irresistibly delectable as the rest.

"What would you like?" Pinkamena asked, soon realizing that Sweetie Belle was unable to reply, as she was hypnotized by the overwhelmingly sweet scent. Pinkamena smiled in amusement and decided to aid Sweetie Belle in deciding, simply by taking a cupcake from the fridge and placing it inside the filly's open mouth.

The taste. Absolutely sublime.

Any ample suspicion of Pinkamena's true intentions had begun to disappear; until eventually, the only reasonable thought in Sweetie Belle's mind was on what to eat next. She swallowed her mesmerizing mouthful in satisfaction and muttered "Ahhh… so good". Pinkamena smirked cheekily before offering a second cupcake to her famished guest, "Thank you so much. It's good to hear my work is appreciated".

From this, two unpredicted figures peeked from behind the counter and exclaimed "Hey! Can we have some too?!" in unison. Pinkamena gazed behind her with a mischievous grin, whilst holding a pair of cupcakes as an offering, "You'd better hurry, before Sweetie Belle eats them all".

All three of them fixed upon the lone filly, who was currently gorging upon a slice of sponge cake, before both Scootaloo and Applebloom joined her in her feast. As each filly individually stuffed themselves with sweets, Pinkamena simply stood on the sidelines and watched; but at some point, Scootaloo turned to Pinkamena and asked "Hey, Pinkamena. You want some?"

Pinkamena waved this question away and shook her head.

"Nah… I'm saving my appetite for later".

* * *

Ten minutes passed ever since they began their legionary raid throughout the fridge, and such acts of gluttony had returned to greet the fillies with a vengeance.

As they stumbled dizzily away from there midnight meal, each clutching their overfed stomachs in discomfort, Scootaloo muttered under her breath "I'm… ugh… gonna… explode". Applebloom leaned against the wall ungraciously and groaned queasily to herself, "Ohhh… we ate too much… for sure" before an unexpected belch escaped her lips.

Pinkamena leaned against the nearby wall, smiling malevolently as she watched the fillies' futile attempts to quell the pain in their guts. "You poor things" she giggled cheekily, "Well, that _was_ a lot to eat".

In reality, the entire fridge had been pillaged of the entirety of its contents. Pinkamena's eyes glowed with delight as she concocted a new plot, "I'll tell you what. You three can sleep in _my_ bed if you want" she offered generously.

The three looked at eachother, their long-expended energy beginning to take its toll upon them, and nodded in agreement. The trio of gluttons carried themselves up the stairs and eventually settled in their hostess's boudoir, snuggling comfortably under the covers of her bed. Within moments, they surrendered to fatigue as Pinkamena smiled wickedly.

She crept out of the room and slowly shut the door, before her eyes widened with satisfaction. She leaned her shoulder against the door with a loud _'Thud!'_ , rubbing her hooves together and snickering to herself before she made her way back downstairs.

However, unbeknownst to her, Scootaloo reopened her strained eyelids and lightly tapped Applebloom's shoulder, resulting in the latter stirring into consciousness. "Huh… what?" she muttered sleepily. Scootaloo furrowed her eyebrows nervously and asked "What do you think she meant when she said that she was 'saving her appetite'?"

Applebloom answered half-minded "I dunno… she was probably gonna eat the rest when we were done" before tossing away from her colleague and returning to her brief slumber. Scootaloo pondered each of Pinkamena's actions throughout the night and objected "But she didn't eat _anything_ ".

As they continued to question their situation, Pinkamena slowly staggered from the kitchen and back up the stairs. She continued through the hallway of the second floor and stopped behind the bedroom door, leaning her ear against the wooden frame and grinning. She reached for the handle and proceeded to open it, only to be distracted by an unknown liquid running down her neck.

She held her neck in confusion before a strange feeling of nausea caught her attention. She held her temple in pain as her head began throbbing relentlessly, as more sweat began flowing through her hair and across her cheeks. "But if she wasn't gonna eat the food, then what else could she have been talking about" Applebloom asked curiously.

By this time, Sweetie Belle had awoken and joined the conversation, having mentioned the fact that Pinkamena was reluctant to eat until they had finished.

Scootaloo pondered this strange situation, attempting to fit Pinkamena's intentions into a logical structure. However, after finally finding the most plausible solution, Scootaloo began shivering in shock as her jaw hung open. She turned stiffly to face Applebloom's concerned expression, beads of sweat streaming from her temple as her heart increased in pace. "You… you don't think she meant-".

' _THUMP!'_

Suddenly, a loud noise beckoned from behind the door, instantly snatching the trio's attention from Scootaloo's deduction. Sweetie Belle stepped out of bed and crept cautiously towards the door, despite the protests from her colleagues to do so. As she reached for the door knob, she quickly decided to listen through the door for any possible danger lurking behind it.

Before she could have reacted, the door creaked open and Pinkamena fell against the floor before her, leaving the trio of witnesses speechless with fear. Pinkamena twitched and fidgeted against the floor as if she was electrocuted, before she eventually lost consciousness altogether and lay lifelessly upon the carpet.

As this happened, a door was heard creaking open from down the hallway, followed by the sound of hoofsteps staggering towards the bedroom, before a pair of curious eyes peered from the side of the door frame. Maud asked sleepily "Hey… What are you three doing in here" before staring downwards at her incapacitated sibling.

"AHHH! PINKIE PIE!" Maud screamed as she kneeled down and held Pinkie Pie's head in her arms, the latter showing neither sign of consciousness nor function. Maud then angrily stared towards the fillies and cried out in despair "I TOLD YOU NOT TO BOTHER HER!" before shutting her eyes tightly in despair and shedding tears for her sister's misfortune.

* * *

The next morning, Rarity had finally returned from her errand and travelled to Pinkie Pie's doorstep, though she was in for a dark surprise when she was greeted. Maud stood in the doorway, Sweetie Belle standing beside her with her head turned away from her sister. "What happened?" Rarity asked curiously, aware of a problem based on Maud's outraged expression.

"Sweetie Belle's friends came and stirred up Pinkamena" Maud sternly informed, forcing Rarity to catch her breath and shout "You what!?" Sweetie Belle cowered in fright and blurted out "I'm so sorry! The others dared me to!"

Sweetie Belle them stepped down to the street and stood beside her sister, while Maud stepped aside and faced towards the inside of the main room. Soon enough, Scootaloo and the others crept through the doorway in a single file. "C'mon, sis" Rarity instructed firmly, "We're heading home, so you can't cause any more hassle for today".

Sweetie Belle sighed in shame as she accompanied her sister, and the pair soon began their travel back to their home. Maud looked on before turning to Scootaloo, who had found herself abandoned by her colleagues as they ran in different directions. "And as for _you_ …" Maud snapped to the fearful filly before finishing " _You_ can stay away from here for good!"

Maud slammed the door after having expended most of her welling fury, and sighed calmly as she trotted across the main room. Suddenly, the sound of uneven hoofsteps emitted from the staircase and caught Maud's attention, and she was surprised to find her sister descending in an irregular and even exhausted manner.

"Pinkie Pie! You shouldn't be out of bed! You're still-" she began before she was interrupted by Pinkie Pie hushing her, "I'm alright, Maud. I just…". Pinkie Pie suddenly stumbled forward before she quickly steadied herself, though her awkward swooning hadn't ceased. "Come and sit down" Maud instructed as she led her sibling to the living room, and the pair sat side by side on the sofa.

The pair were silent for several moments, though Pinkie Pie soon scooted across the couch and laid her head against her sister's shoulder. Pinkie Pie lifted her head and smiled warmly, "Thanks, Maud… for helping me" she . Maud sporadically shook her head and objected "No! Don't thank me. I was lazy, and irresponsible. I-".

Suddenly, Pinkie wrapped her arms around her sibling and embraced her warmly, sighing "I don't care! You're the best sister ever! No other sister would ever put up with this mess for _this_ long. I love you so much!" The moment she said this, a single tear fell from Pinkie Pie's eye, a tear of joy.

Maud rubbed the back of her neck, blushing from this compliment, until Pinkie Pie pulled away and sighed with relief. She held her hoof to her chest and raised an eyebrow in confusion, taken aback by a strange feeling that welled within her heart. "I feel… funny" she stated plainly, Maud tilting her head in confusion as Pinkie then said "I've never felt like this before".

"What do you mean?" Maud asked, though Pinkie could only answer "It's like… I'm happy… but different". The extrovert the sat up and concluded "I've been feeling it since you came here", but was then surprised as Maud embraced her lovingly and the pair remained beside eachother on the sofa.

"You feel complete".

 **The End?**


	17. And So Say All of Us Part 1

**MLP: So Say All of Us. Part 1**

May the 3rd.

This specific date had almost brought the whole of Equestria to a complete standstill. Many had already been informed of its relevance towards a specific occasion, though none could possibly predict what forthcoming events would occur on the day itself. The cause for this uncertainty among the public stemmed from the fact that the 3rd of May was the date of birth of one Pinkamena 'Pinkie' Diane Pie.

As of this day, however, it was May the 2nd; the day before the aforementioned celebratory event. That morning, Pinkie Pie herself stumbled clumsily out her front door and wandered through the streets, having decided to dine upon a morning takeaway meal to suffice as her breakfast. However, she remained of two minds, in a figurative sense, of what to eat. As she pondered her variety of choices, she eventually found herself outside her favourite place in the world to eat.

She entered the café and ordered herself a large strawberry flavoured, choc coated, coconut sprinkled, flake sticked milkshake, before settling in a nearby table and eagerly awaiting to be served. She leaned her shoulder against the wall-side armrest and sighed in satisfaction, remarking the blissful peace and quiet of the past few weeks.

"HEY, Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie Pie's heart practically leapt from her chest as she turned to learn the identity of her unknown acquaintance, sighing in relief to find a surprised Maud Pie sitting beside her. "Sorry, Pinkie Pie. I-I didn't mean-" Maud stammered before pausing and turning away guiltily, Pinkie Pie giggling to herself all the while. "What are you doing here, si-" Pinkie Pie began before noticing here best friend Rainbow Dash walking by, prompting her to jump up and wave her over.

Rainbow Dash sat and greeted the sisters with "What are you two doing here? It's pretty early in the morning, after all". Pinkie Pie considered the coincidence of her question before answering "Oh… well… I couldn't sleep last night. So I thought-" and stopping abruptly, inadvertently drawing Maud's attention. Maud tilted her head curiously and asked "Really? Why not?" Pinkie Pie tried to wave it off by stating "Nevermind. It's not a big deal"; however, Maud and Rainbow Dash didn't seem convinced by this answer, briefly looking at eachother in denial.

Maud lay her hoof on her lamenting sibling's shoulder and reassured "Pinkie Pie, are you sure? You can tell us anything, y'know". Pinkie Pie pursed her lips and mumbled "Don't worry about it; it's fine", slowly losing her patience for the current subject and hoping for it to magically end. Maud didn't get the message and persevered, continuing to question the matter and asking "Was it a bad dream? Pinkie P-".

"Alright! Yes! It was a bad dream! It was about Pinkamena! She burned down all of Ponyville and tied you all up in the Town Hall! I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep afterwards! But I don't want to talk about it, because I want to have a good day today after such a bad sleep!"

Pinkie Pie lay her head against the table after her ungracious meltdown as her observers watched in pity. Maud scooted closer to her sister and whispered "I'm sorry, Pinkie… I shouldn't have kept asking you" Maud glumly apologised. Pinkie Pie shook her head and shakily sobbed "No, _I'm_ sorry. I'm just not in a good mood today". Pinkie Pie sighed as Maud wrapped her arm around her sister and leaned her head against Pinkie Pie's shoulder.

"I don't blame you. I can't even imagine the things you go through" Maud whispered calmingly. Rainbow Dash was enjoying this heart-warming scene before they broke away upon seeing the waitress approach them, a platter of drinks balanced upon her head. "Oh, finally" the trio thought, although keeping it to themselves, as each began downing their beverages.

Pinkie Pie leaned back in her seat for comfort and lazily listened as the nearby patrons conversed amongst the crowd. The typical conversations, "Where's your friend going?", "No thanks; I'm trying to quit", "I'm just heading there, myself", "Hey, there she is!", "Who?", "Pinkamena!"

Pinkie Pie opened her eyes upon hearing this and scanned her field of vision across the various occupied tables, only to find no visibly prying eyes. Maud raised an eyebrow and asked "Hey Pinkie Pie, are you okay". Pinkie Pie fell back in her seat and held her arm nervously, muttering "I thought I heard…" before shaking her head indifferently and shrugging "Nevermind".

The next 2 minutes went by undisturbed, but also uncomfortably quietly. Maud desperately wanted to ask her sister if something was wrong, but had considered the likely price of such actions and chose to keep it to herself. Rainbow Dash not only felt the awkward atmosphere, but practically suffered at its hands, and wanted to leave in equal desperation.

However, all Pinkie Pie could think about was that one name she overheard. Who was it that said it? How did they know? Did somepony tell them? Pinkie Pie squirmed uncomfortably as horrific memories flooded her mind, distracting her from her physical actions.

"Pinkie Pie! What's wrong!?"

Pinkie Pie returned to the realm of reality and her focus shifted upon her sister, the latter shaking her by her shoulders to break her free from her internal struggle. Pinkie Pie rubbed her cheeks and found her wrists dampening from the contact, before she pulled them away and cringed to herself. "What is wrong with me?" she muttered under her breath, thankfully remaining unheard by her companions.

She could hear the patrons murmuring amongst themselves from the surrounding tables, but couldn't bring herself to listen. However, multiple conversations were overheard that caught her attention immediately, primarily from their coincidental subject matter. Maud furrowed her eyebrows as Pinkie Pie shrank into herself for a second time. She had no clue of how to approach this situation, nor did Rainbow Dash, and decided to wait for Pinkie Pie to speak first.

"They'r…" Pinkie Pie grunted, "They're all talking about me". Maud Pie tilted her head and asked "Who?" Pinkie Pie shook her head and tensed with fear and faced towards her sister, revealing a pair of glistening, tearstained eyes. "All of them. They know about Pinkamena! How could they possibly know about her?!"

From Pinkie Pie's point of view, the whole café had disregarded their meals and turned to face her, staring with lifeless eyes as she tried her hardest to ignore them. "She's gonna change again", "She's freaking out", "Stay away from her! She'll hurt you", "She's dangerous", "Pinkamena's coming back", "She ruins everything", "I'm getting out of here", "I don't wanna be around her anymore"; "She's a monster".

Pinkie Pie could take this anymore.

She suddenly turned to Maud and exclaimed "I need to go home, right now! Please move!" Maud furrowed her eyebrows and asked "Why? Pinkie Pie, what's going on?" Rainbow Dash, for her part, checked around the café for anypony watching, sighing in relief from their miraculous ignorance. Maud hastily shifted out of her seat to make way for her panicking sibling, the latter stumbling her way out from the narrow gap and preparing to dart for the exit; failing to consider her lack of balance and quickly losing it.

Many of the surrounding table-members unfortunately took notice of the loud series of clatters followed by a loud ' _Thud!_ ' and all stared towards its general direction, destined to be surprised by the source laying motionlessly on the floor. Contrary to belief, Pinkie Pie was not injured; nor did she remain still from any physical hindrance, but from sheer embarrassment. Pinkie Pie couldn't move a single muscle, but she could feel the whole café staring at her, their eyes digging painfully into her soul as her body remained unaltered in its position.

Pinkie Pie could feel herself being lifted from the ground by an unknown pair of arms, but suspected them to belong to Maud, not that was in the right state of mind to care. As she was dragged towards the entrance, she couldn't help but remember how before all of this happened, she would have shrugged this little predicament off without a second thought. She barely had any comprehension of humiliation back then, and simply took anything of a negative impact as a mere trifle in her ever joyful life.

These memories only helped to remind her of how ignorant and stupid she was in those days.

She managed to stand by herself, but was guided all the way back home by what she assumed was her sister. She didn't dare open her eyes, imagining everypony around her staring at her as she attempted in vain to remain unnoticed; although the mere thought of this was unbearable to comprehend in and of itself. However, finally, she felt herself being taken upwards along the steps to her front door and heard a loud creaking sound, before finally finding herself in the main corridor.

* * *

She opened her eyes and lifted her head to see her surroundings, enveloping herself within the solitary atmosphere. Never had she imagined that she would ever crave for seclusion from the outside world and any time in her life; however, this was a mere droplet within the ocean of unexpected occurrences for her in the past year. Without a word to her company, she stumbled her way up the stairs and stopped once inside her bedroom.

Maud immediately followed her inside and asked "What happened, sis?!" in an attempt to understand the situation. Pinkie Pie merely hung her head in shame and replied "Nothing. It's nothing to-". "Pinkie Pie! Please, stop saying that it's nothing to worry about!" Maud cried out. Pinkie Pie turned to her and sternly remarked "Well, I'll rephrase. It's nothing for _you_ to worry about" before stopping to consider her own comment.

Even Maud found herself bewildered by the bitterness behind these words, and found herself backing away towards the door. "No! Wait! Don't go! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!" Pinkie Pie cried out in a panic, and Maud stopped to listen. Pinkie Pie sat on the floor and sniffed meekly over her lack of control over her own emotions, "I don't like getting angry at anypony, but I can't control it anymore".

Maud sat beside her as she continued "I like it when everypony is happy, and I always tried my best to help them stay happy". Pinkie Pie felt the tears in her eyes begin to re-emerge and pour down her cheeks, but hadn't the will to wipe them away, "But all I ever did was make it worse, and everypony knew it. Nopony really wants me around, cuz I'll just mess everything up". "Pinkie Pie, that is _not_ true at all!" Maud desperately intervened, but Pinkie Pie took no notice.

She continued "Anypony in town will tell you the exact same thing. ' _That Pinkie Pie girl? Oh, Nah. She's too weird, and she always causes trouble_ '. ' _As if things couldn't get any worse, Pinkie Pie comes by to try and help_ '. I really am just an irritating pest". Maud couldn't comprehend that her sister was saying these things, and neither could Rainbow Dash, who had been listening to the whole conversation from behind the bedroom wall. Pinkie than muttered "And thanks to Pinkamena, I _truly_ have no control over when a ruin things for anypony else. Am I just destined to be hated?!"

Pinkie Pie had gone too far, and the overwhelming emotional pain she had been containing had begun to take its toll; her body felt as if it would tear apart at any moment. Maud was left entirely powerless, doomed to fail her sister once again and was forced to leave her sister by herself. Nothing she would say now would make a difference, and they both knew this fact. Maud arose from the floor and made her way downstairs, neglecting the eavesdropping Rainbow Dash's presence, who glumly followed suit.

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door, though no guests had been expected. Maud came to the door and opened it to find Twilight Sparkle, who nodded in greeting before stepping inside. "Twilight, what are you doing here?" Maud asked curiously, to which Twilight answered "I heard about what happened in the café. Is Pinkie Pie okay?" Maud wanted not to concern others on this matter, nor to draw attention to Pinkie Pie after her humiliating experience; however, she believed that lying about it to her friends would only worsen the case.

"I don't really know; but… I think it was another hallucination". Twilight than asked "Where is she now?" Rainbow Dash intervened and replied for Maud, "She's in her room now, but I think we should leave her alone for now". Maud then turned to face the nearby clock, currently displaying 6:30, and added "Not to mention she'd probably have fallen asleep by now. She hasn't left her room all day".

Twilight thought for a second and asked her final question, "What do you have planned for tomorrow?" Maud and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother in unison and frowned. Twilight rubbed the back of her neck and confessed "Neither do I". However, unknown to eachother, each of the trio had the exact same thought on their mind, a thought that they each wanted to ask, but chose against it.

If this is how today went for Pinkie Pie, what would happen tomorrow?

 **To be continued…**


	18. And So Say All of Us Part 2

**MLP: And So Say All of Us. Part 2**

The next morning, Maud awoke from her undisturbed slumber and contently sauntered her way towards the stairs. However, upon passing by her sister's personal boudoir, she felt tempted to investigate her sister's current status, both of her location and her emotion. She listened closely through the door for any indication of Pinkie Pie's presence.

Suddenly, the door flung open and Pinkie Pie stumbled clumsily out into the hall, neglecting her sister, and down the stairs. To Pinkie's surprise, a knock on the door prompted her to greet her unknown morning guest; or in this case, 'guests'. Upon opening the door, she was astonished to find Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity awaiting permission to enter.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie!" Twilight smiled, though Pinkie Pie recognised the smile as a mere façade. Pinkie hung her head in misery, before muttering "Hey, girls" and stepping aside to allow them access. The group of unexpected visitors were forced to acknowledge to true nature of this meeting and entered the abode simultaneously.

They entered the living room to find Maud awaiting them on the sofa, beckoning the group to do the same.

While the visitors politely obliged and joined her, Pinkie Pie excused herself from the equation and muttered "Sorry, I'll be right back. I need to… to…" Without another word, and without any consideration of the protests her friends made, she stepped out of the living room. But unbeknownst to the others, she had merely hidden in the corridor to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What's the matter with Pinkie Pie? I can't believe she wouldn't even stay to chat with us" Rarity admitted. Maud then intervened and explained "Don't worry about Pinkie Pie. She's been going through a lot for a while now; but don't tell her I said that". "Too late" Pinkie thought to herself, before listening closer.

Her friends had apparently started whispering amongst eachother, but Pinkie Pie could clearly understand what was discussed. "But what should we do about her Birthday Party?" Maud questioned.

"That's right!" Pinkie gasped in sudden realisation, "It _is_ my Birthday today!" However, instead of finding any hint of pleasure in this discovery, she didn't feel anything. No emotion was felt from this discovery, and Pinkie Pie felt disappointed in herself for this fact.

Her memory swept her back to last year's birthday party, and she shuddered from the events that occurred during it. It was the first time she had unleashed the hidden emotions she had bottled up inside her ever since arriving in Ponyville, as well as the first time her sanity truly began to crumble, resulting in her belief of abandonment by her companions.

She truly did lose her mind that day, and forced herself to fashion new friends out of inanimate objects. If Rainbow Dash hadn't visited her to question her wellbeing, what may have happened to her since then was unfathomable. And if that's what became of her during that birthday, she dreaded what would unfold during this one.

She continued to listen and found that they had moved on to a new topic; yesterday's embarrassing incident at the café.

"She was so upset, she wouldn't even open her eyes. I never thought that she would take it _that_ seriously" Rainbow Dash admitted guiltily. "But, yeah… Now everypony in town knows about it. And they're all actually really worried about her". Twilight added "Yeah, everypony knows something's wrong and really want to help. Some of the staff in the café told me that they felt so sorry for her".

Pinkie Pie bit her lip and tensed at just how wrong that last sentence sounded to her, as she felt that she shouldn't require any sympathy for her actions. Despite this, she was astounded that so many of her associates, a majority being little more than strangers, were so concerned for her. She smiled weakly as a single tear escaped her eye, before she hesitantly wiped her eyes clean and refocused her attention.

The conversation had apparently ended, as she could hear the living room's occupants leave their seats and make their way towards the door. Before they could pass through, however, Pinkie Pie stepped before them and blocked their path, surprising them by her sudden appearance. She looked upon them and confessed "I… need to tell… you girls something".

They didn't reply and simply awaited her announcement, this generous attention only making it more painful for her to speak.

"I don't… want a birthday party".

This confession was so unexpected, it practically grinded time itself to a screeching halt. "WHAT!?" her friends screamed in unison, Pinkie Pie bowing her head guiltily for her comment. "Yes. I know" Pinkie explained, before adding "It's just… It won't be worth it". Rainbow Dash stepped forward and shouted "How can you say something like that!? You're our friend, Pinkie Pie! It'll always be worth it!"

Pinkie gritted her teeth in frustration and answered "No. It won't".

This was going nowhere; and upon this realisation, Pinkie Pie simply turned away from her friends and staggered her way upstairs to her bedroom. Her friends were astounded by her abrupt exit, only to be surprised even further by her final words on the matter, "Tell everypony the truth about me. They deserve to know". Maud Pie's jaw hung open as Pinkie Pie continued to her bedroom and locked herself inside, entrapping herself from the rest of the world.

* * *

She climbed onto her bed and sat quietly to herself for the following hours. She suspected that her friends were preparing a party downstairs, but couldn't hear any indication of such actions from outside her bedroom.

"Why would you say that?" repeated within her mind, though she had no answer; no excuse for her disconnected nature, and she understood this fact with clarity. "Why would you say that?" was heard one final time; though a specific, peculiar aspect of this question caught her attention.

It was Pinkamena that was asking.

Pinkie Pie had reawakened her alternate personality with her negative attitude; but surprisingly, this return of her uncompassionate shadow was exactly what she wanted. "I can't believe you don't want a birthday party!" Pinkamena echoed within her subconscious.

"It's all your fault, you know. … _My_ fault? How's this _my_ fault? … Everypony's going to know about you now. … WHAT! How?! … My friends are going to tell everypony about us. I told them to!"

Pinkamena suddenly screamed "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? I've always cared about you, Pinkie Pie; only because nopony else would! … You're wrong! They'll always care for me! … They never would care for you, and they never will! I hate them all for what they do to you! I'll never put you in any danger like _they_ will! So why do you always ignore me when I'm trying to help you!?" Pinkamena roared furiously.

After an unnerving period of silence, Pinkie Pie lay her head on the pillow and sighed, her face devoid of any emotion.

"I give up".

"You what?" Pinkamena questioned in confusion; "I'm done. … What does that mean? … I've had enough of this; having absolutely no choice but to lose control of myself and putting everypony in danger". Pinkamena furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion, curious of how this explanation would eventually conclude.

She then asked "So… what are you going to do? ... … … Pinkie Pie?" Pinkamena clutched her head as her eyes widened, exclaiming "Pinkie Pie, what are you gonna do!? … Nothing". Pinkamena sighed with relief to hear her voice after a periodic silence, but remained confused by her alternate persona's comment.

"Nothing? … Nothing at all. _You_ can do whatever you like" Pinkie Pie explained. Pinkamena could sense the lack of generosity in her offering, prompting her to question Pinkie Pie's intentions further. "I can? … You can take over whenever you want to now. We can go wherever, do whatever, and attack whoever _you_ choose". Pinkie Pie gritted her teeth as she failed to hold back her tears.

"You can call the shots now, Pinkamena. You're the dominant personality now".

Pinkamena's heart dropped from these words, before she screamed "What!? Pinkie Pie, you can't say that! Don't say something like that! … I don't even care about what happens to anypony anymore. … Pinkie Pie, why are you doing this?! … _You_ can do everything, and I'll be here to support you. … Pinkie Pie! Stop that!"

Pinkamena leapt out of the bed and paced around the bedroom, trying her hardest to talk some sense into her alter ego. "I don't want to be the dominant personality! Pinkie Pie, why are you doing this!? … What else can I possibly do? Either _you_ take over, _I_ take over, or we just be friends again. … But you don't actually want to be friends with me, do you? … I have no choice".

Pinkamena gasped as she fell to her knees in despair, dumbfounded by these final words. _"I have no choice"_ , these words managed to squeeze a tear from Pinkamena's eye.

"What's happened to you, cherub? You're not the same cherub I knew before. … I know. I used to be really stupid. … And you really do want _me_ … as the dominant mind? … It doesn't matter what _I_ want. Not anymore, anyway. … Don't say that! … If you want us to be friends, then I'm fine with that. … But we're not friends! Not _real_ friends! … I'll give you complete control of my body, Pinkamena; but I don't want to control it anymore. … PINKIE PIE, STOP! … If you give it back to me at any time, I'll just wait for you to take it again. … NO! DON'T DO THIS. PLEASE!"

Pinkamena was beginning to panic, scared for not only her original personality's sake, but also for their relationship from this moment onward. However, while considering these thoughts, after all this time and trouble she had caused for herself and others, Pinkamena had finally found clarity. She considered her friend's previous phrase for a second time; _"I have no choice"_.

All this time, she truly did force Pinkie Pie to be friends with her again, though the latter constantly rejected it and attempted to supress her. Despite this constant rejection, she obliviously persisted in her own goal and attempted to antagonize Pinkie Pie's friends to gain her favour; and yet, it still wasn't enough to win Pinkie Pie's allegiance.

In the end, Pinkie Pie really did have no choice over her own life ever since she came back. And as a result, she had practically destroyed Pinkie Pie and left her as nothing more than a broken, submissive ghost of her former self.

She then considered the heartbreaking anguish that Pinkie Pie would forevermore have to suffer because of her, simply because Pinkie had no real choice but to accept her torment anyway. Being forced, whilst simultaneously forcing herself, to simply watch and grieve for her former friends as her dominant personality continued in her place.

Was taking over Pinkie Pie's mind truly what Pinkie Pie actually wanted of Pinkamena?

Was it worth it? Would it be worth it?

No it wouldn't.

"I'll leave you alone, Pinkie Pie" Pinkamena quietly stated.

Pinkie opened her eyes and stared upwards, asking "What was that?"

"I said I'll leave you alone. That's really what you want, isn't it?" Pinkamena asked. Pinkie Pie barely pondered the question before she had her answer and responded "Y-yes it is" meekly. "Okay; then I'll go away" Pinkamena concluded before adding "I really did want us to be friends, y'know. But I think I would've been the worst friend ever".

Pinkie Pie arose from the floor as Pinkamena continued "I never let you decide anything, and now I see what I've been doing to you". By this time, Pinkie Pie's chest radiated warmly and her heartbeat increased, her energy returning at a rapid rate. "I'm not important to you, Pinkie Pie. I'm just an imaginary friend that you became too attached to".

"Yes… you are" was all Pinkie could say, the misery of this swiftly concluding battle beginning to take its effect.

"Then you really never needed me at all, and you _still_ don't" Pinkamena began to sob from her own words. "I'm sorry about your friends, by the way; but I genuinely did believe that _they_ were to blame for your problems". Pinkie Pie laid her back against the wall and panted exhaustedly, her increasing body temperature beginning to take its toll.

"I'll stop taking over; ruining your life. You'll never have to deal with me again" Pinkamena informed in a soft, hurt tone.

Oddly, Pinkie Pie smiled warmly and admitted "For what it's worth, it was fun having you as my friend when I was a filly, Pinkamena", hoping to shed light on this dark atmosphere.

"Thanks, cherub. It was good to be with you again, even if it was for the wrong reasons". Pinkie smiled warmly as her mind felt less clouded, and her muscles less strained. Soon, all she could hear was Pinkamena giggling softly, which echoed softly through her mind before fading into silence.

At long last, after a year of torment and mayhem.

It was over.

* * *

Pinkie Pie exhaled a long, relieved sigh as she fell forward and landed against her front hooves. Her muscles quaked as she tried to stabilise her posture, all while breathing in a fluent style to calm her agitated nerves. A great weight that she had been carrying ever since her childhood had just been lifted from her, a weight that she herself had never even learned of until this fateful event.

She carefully rose from the floor and stood firmly on all fours, standing valiantly from within the dark and claustrophobic environment. And finally, for the first time in almost an entire year, her mouth twisted into a wide and genuine grin. A smile, something that she had been offering to her friends to mask her true thoughts and emotions, had finally reclaimed its rightful place in the extrovert's identity.

"I feel… so happy" she whispered into the darkness, "I've never felt this happy… in my entire life". Without any cause to do so, she found herself laughing with joy, the very sound of her own laughter filling her soul with its power. Soon, her laughter grew louder and louder, until she could hear the echoes of her voice reflecting from the walls of her bedroom.

* * *

From within the walls of Sugarcube Corner, her laughter could be heard by any and all who were in the lower rooms. Maud stopped in her tracks and listened intently to the sound, the very sound that had been told to her in fable but having never experience in person. Along with her, Twilight and the others followed her in her act and were astounded by this unexpected noise.

"It can't be… after what… why is-" Rarity wondered in astonishment, though Applejack interrupted her as she questioned "Who cares!? Let's go!" within seconds, all six houseguests had stampeded their way up the stair case and stopped outside their hostess's door.

They hastened as Pinkie Pie continued to laugh and wondered what had provoked it, considering the great contrast against her mood from earlier. As they each pondered this, the laugher has suddenly ceased and they could hear a new sound emit from behind the bedroom door, the sound of a great force impacting against the carpet floor.

The sound drew closer to the door and the knob twisted slightly, before suddenly swinging open and sending the outside residence stumbling back in surprise. There, gleefully bounding her way through the doorway, an enormous smile spread across her face, was the Pinkie Pie that had disappeared for so long.

"Pinkie Pie?" Maud began, taking Pinkie's attention as the latter turned to her sister with a beaming grin. "She's gone! SHE'S GONE NOW!" Pinkie screamed with log contained excitement as she suddenly ensnared Maud in a tight hug. Her sister gasped in shock before muttering "What?! Who?! You mean… Pinkamena?!"

Pinkie Pie then pulled away and nodded enthusiastically, her smile never faltering as she answered "She left me alone forever! She's _never_ coming back ever again!" Her friend all looked upon eachother with a hybrid between excitement and astonishment, and all soon began smiling from this amazing revelation.

Eventually, though, Pinkie Pie's smile slowly lowered as she began contemplating the events that had occurred. "All of those ponies who were worried about me in the café, I need to let them know that everything's okay!" she declared to her friends, before adding "And Celestia! She needs to know as well, so we can cancel our sessions!"

She mingled amidst her friends as she began to panic over all the tasks she assigned to herself, "There's so many things I need to fix! I have to get going no-".

Suddenly, as she was making her way to the staircase, she felt somepony's grasp around her torso and she was pulled back among her friends. "Hang on, gal!" Applejack shouted as she released Pinkie Pie from her grip, "Don't get ahead of yaself".

Rainbow stepped forward as she explained "Yeah… If it's alright we want you to stay in your room for a few more minutes" before leading the extrovert to her bedroom door "Maud can keep you company, and we'll come get you soon". On que, Maud followed her sister inside and the others made their way back downstairs.

Pinkie Pie sat on the end of the bed and Maud sat beside her, the both seeking comfort from the softness of the mattress after their separate experiences. Pinkie Pie soon hugged Maud once again and stated "I can't thank you girls enough for all of this! You've all been so good to me, especially _you_ , Maud!"

However, to Pinkie Pie's surprise, Maud joined her in the embrace, answering "Don't worry about that. As my sister, I'd do anything to keep you safe, and I know that your friends would do it too". Pinkie Pie escaped the embrace as she then explained "Pinkamena realised that they would too, and I think that's what made her go away".

Finally, after several minutes of conversation, the door opened slowly and Rainbow Dash stepped inside, approaching the two girls before asking "Are you ready?"

Pinkie Pie was confused and turned to Maud for an explanation, though Maud simply smiled as she left the bead and stood beside the pegasus. Soon enough, the rest of her friend entered and stood before the confused pony, before Rainbow Dash pulled out a small handtowel. "Put this on, please" Rainbow instructed, though Pinkie Pie was trusting enough to follow this instruction as she took the towel and wore it as a blindfold.

Pinkie Pie's vision was enveloped in blindness, and she found herself at the mercy of her friends as they guided her to the door. Though the nature of this surprise was enveloped in mystery, Pinkie Pie had a good idea what it could be, and was so happy that her friends had gone out of their way for her once again.

Pinkie's excitement grew with every passing second, and finally felt herself descend the staircase and wander across the main room. She was finally stopped outside the lounge room, her excitement reaching its peak. The blindfold was slowly being lifted away. Here it comes.

"SURPRISE!"

 **The End.**


End file.
